Adsorptive potentiometric stripping analysis of nucleic acids at mercury electrodes

The application of adsorptive stripping potentiometry to the reductive detection of nucleic acids at mercury electrodes is reported. Compared to analogous voltammetric stripping modes, constant current potentiometric stripping analysis (PSA) effectively addresses the hydrogen discharge background problem, and hence greatly improves the characteristics of the superimposed cytosine/adenine (CA) reduction peak. Compared to earlier schemes for trace measurements of nucleic acids at mercury or carbon electrodes that rely on anodic signals arising from the guanine residue, convenient quantitation can now be carried out in connection with the cytosine and adenine residues. Variables influencing the adsorptive PSA response are explored and optimized. With five minute accumulation, the detection limits for tRNA, ssDNA and dsDNA are 30 mu g l(-1), 60 mu g l(-1) and 2 mg l(-1), respectively. Such different values reflect the strong dependence of the PSA CA signal upon the nucleic-acid structure. This allows the quantitation of ssDNA or tRNA in the presence of dsDNA, and offers new possibilities for electrochemical studies of DNA structure and interactions.

Cathodic stripping voltammetric determination of ceftazidime in urine at a hanging mercury drop electrode

A method was developed for the differential-pulse cathodic stripping voltammetric determination of ceftazidime with a hanging mercury drop electrode using its reduction peak at -0.43 V in Britton-Robinson buffer pH 4.0. The optimum accumulation potential and time were -0.15 V and up to 60 s, respectively. Linear calibration graphs were obtained from 1 x 10(-8) M and 1.5 x 10(-7) M. The limit of determination was calculated to be 5 x 10(-9) M. The coefficient of variation was 4% (n = 7) at 1 x 10(-7) M ceftazidime. The effect of various components of urine on the voltammetric response was studied, and creatinine, uric acid, urea, and glucose were shown to interfere in the method. Ceftazidime bound to human albumin gives a unique stripping peak at -0.48 V. Recoveries of 87% +/- 2% of the ceftazidime (n = 5) were obtained from urine spiked with 1.27 mu g ml(-1) using C-18 solid phase extraction cartridges. (C) 1997 Academic Press.

Cathodic stripping voltammetric detection and determination at a hanging mercury-drop electrode of dye contaminants in purified biomaterials: study of the human serum albumin and reactive dye 120 system

Procion red HE-3B (RR120) is an example of dye currently used in affinity purification. A method is described for determining trace amounts of RR120 dye contaminant in human serum albumin by cathodic stripping voltammetry. The method is based on a measure of a well-defined peak at -0.58 V, obtained when samples of HSA protein (0.01-2% w/v) containing dye concentrations are submitted to a heating time of 330 min at 80degreesC in NaOH, pH 12.0 and the samples are removed to a solution containing Britton-Robinson buffer, pH 4.0. Using an optimum accumulation potential and tune of 0 V and 240 s, respectively, linear calibration curves were obtained from 1.0 X 10(-9) to 1.0 X 10(-8) mol 1(-1) for RR120 dye. Leakage/hydrolysis of reactive red 120 from an agarose support (e.g. at pH 2 or 12) can also be conveniently determined at very low levels (sub-mug ml(-1)) by means of cathodic stripping voltammetry, which involves adsorptive accumulation of the dye onto the hanging mercury-drop electrode. (C) 2002 Elsevier B.V. B.V. All rights reserved.

Indirect cathodic-stripping voltammetric determination of ceftazidime as a mercury salt

At accumulation potentials close to +0.1 V at a hanging mercury drop electrode, ceftazidime is accumulated at pH 9.5, probably in a hydrolysed or otherwise chemically altered form, in an anodic process to give an adsorbed mercury salt. The accumulation of this mercury salt allows the indirect cathodic-stripping voltammetric determination of ceftazidime using the reduction peak of the mercury salt at -0.70 V. The high sensitivity of the method coupled with high sample dilution allows ceftazidime to be determined in milk samples at the 28 mu g ml(-1) level without prior separation. In order to determine lower levels of ceftazidime in milk (ca. 10 ng ml(-1)) a separation process would be required. (C) 1998 Elsevier B.V. B.V. All rights reserved.

DEVELOPMENT OF A CHEMICALLY MODIFIED ELECTRODE BASED ON CARBON PASTE AND FUNCTIONALIZED SILICA-GEL FOR PRECONCENTRATION AND VOLTAMMETRIC DETERMINATION OF MERCURY(II)

A mercury-sensitive chemically modified electrode (CME) based on modified silica gel-containing carbon paste was developed. The functional group attached to the silica gel surface was 3-(2-thiobenzimidazolyl)propyl, which is able to complex mercury ions. This electrode was applied to the determination of mercury(II) ions in aqueous solution. The mercury was chemically preconcentrated on the CME prior to voltammetric determination by anodic stripping in the differential-pulse mode. A calibration graph covering the concentration range from 0.08 to 2 mg l-1 was constructed. The precision for six determinations of 0.122 and 0.312 mg l-1 Hg(II) was 3.2 and 2.9% (relative standard deviation), respectively. The detection limit for a 5-min preconcentration period was 0.013 mg l-1. A study for foreign ions was also made.

Cathodic stripping voltammetric determination of ceftazidime with reactive accumulation at a poly-L-lysine modified hanging mercury drop electrode

Ceftazidime is hydrolysed only slowly at pH 10 at room temperature. This is indicated by a small cathodic stripping voltammetric peak obtained at pH 10 at a hanging mercury drop electrode at about -0.6 V which corresponds to the reduction of the hydrolysis product. This peak is enhanced more than tenfold by the addition of poly-L-lysine (PLL) to the electrolyte solution. The optimum accumulation potential is between 0 and -0.1 V: the size of the peak decreases steadily, however, as the accumulation potential is moved to more negative potentials and is about one-sixth the size for accumulation at -0.4 V. Existing knowledge of the organic chemistry of cephalosporins indicates that the accumulation must involve an aminolysis reaction of the unprotonated PLL with the beta-lactam ring of the ceftazidime. The limit of detection (3 sigma) in standard solutions was calculated to be 1 x 10(-10) mol l(-1). The detection limit in buffer solution containing 1% of urine was calculated to be 5 x 10(-9) mol l(-1), i.e. 5 x 10(-6) mol l(-1) in the urine. (C) 1999 Elsevier B.V. B.V. AU rights reserved.

Analytical procedure for total mercury determination in fishes and shrimps by chronopotentiometric stripping analysis at gold film electrodes after microwave digestion

A method for the total mercury determination in fish and shrimps employing chronopotentiometric stripping analysis on gold film electrodes is described. Fish and shrimp tissues were digested using a microwave oven equipped with closed vessels. We developed a microwave heating program which decomposed all the samples employing diluted nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide. The proposed method was validated by analyzing a certified reference material and then applied for different fish species from fresh water and seawater acquired in local markets of São Paulo city, Brazil. The Brazilian legislation establishes 0.5 and 1 mg per kilogram of fish as upper limit of mercury for omnivorous and predator species, respectively. Except for blue shark tissues, the mercury content was situated below 0.5 mu g g(-1) for all the analyzed samples. The detection limit of the proposed method was calculated as 5 ng g(-1) of sample utilizing 5 minutes of electrodeposition (+300 mV vs. Ag/AgCl) on the gold electrode. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Simultaneous determination of zinc, copper, lead, and cadmium in fuel ethanol by anodic stripping voltammetry using a glassy carbon-mercury-film electrode

A new, versatile, and simple method for quantitative analysis of zinc, copper, lead, and cadmium in fuel ethanol by anodic stripping voltammetry is described. These metals can be quantified by direct dissolution of fuel ethanol in water and subsequent voltammetric measurement after the accumulation step. A maximum limit of 20% (v/v) ethanol in water solution was obtained for voltammetric measurements without loss of sensitivity for metal species. Chemical and operational optimum conditions were analyzed in this study; the values obtained were pH 2.9, a 4.7-mum thickness mercury film, a 1,000-rpm rotation frequency of the working electrode, and a 600-s pre-concentration time. Voltammetric measurements were obtained using linear scan (LSV), differential pulse (DPV), and square wave (SWV) modes and detection limits were in the range 10(-9)-10(-8) mol L-1 for these metal species. The proposed method was compared with a traditional analytical technique, flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS), for quantification of these metal species in commercial fuel ethanol samples.

Aspects of cathodic stripping voltammetry at the hanging mercury drop electrode and in non-mercury disposable sensors

Cathodic stripping voltammetry (CSV) and accumulation at the hanging mercury drop electrode are reviewed briefly. Proposals in a recent IUPAC technical report are considered. Three recent developments in CSV are discussed: the adaptation of CSV methods developed for use with the hanging mercury drop electrode for use with screen-printed carbon electrodes in disposable sensors, the use of reactive accumulation, and the chemometric use of kinetic methods of determination with pulse methods in CSV.

Fast ultrasound-assisted treatment of urine samples for chronopotentiometric stripping determination of mercury at gold film electrodes

This work describes an efficient, fast, and reliable analytical methodology for mercury determination in urine samples using stripping chronopotentiometry at gold film electrodes. The samples were sonicated in the presence of concentrated HCl and H2O2 for 15 min in order to disrupt the organic ligands and release the mercury. Thirty samples can be treated over the optimized region of the ultrasonic bath. This sample preparation was enough to allow the accurate stripping chronopotentiometric determination of mercury in the treated samples. No background currents and no passivation of the gold film electrode due to the sample matrix were verified. The samples were also analyzed by cold vapour atomic absorption spectrometry (CV-AAS) and good agreement between the results was verified. The analysis of NIST SRM 2670 (Toxic Metals in Freeze-Dried Urine) also validated the proposed electroanalytical method. Finally, this method was applied for mercury evaluation in urine of workers exposed to hospital waste incinerators. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Solid state reactions in the platinum-mercury system

Thermogravimetry, Differential Scanning Calorimetry and other analytical techniques (Energy Dispersive X-ray Analysis; Scanning Electron Microscopy; Mapping Surface; X-ray Diffraction; Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy and Cold Vapor Generation Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy) have been used to study the reaction of mercury with platinum foils. The results suggest that, when heated, the electrodeposited Hg film reacts with Pt to form intermetallic compounds each having a different stability, indicated by at least three mass loss steps. Intermetallic compounds such as PtHg4, PtHg and PtHg2 were characterized by XRD. These intermetallic compounds were the main products formed on the surface of the samples after partial removal of bulk mercury via thermal desorption. The Pt(Hg) solid solution formation caused great surface instability, attributed to the atomic size factor between Hg and Pt, facilitating the acid solution's attack to the surface.

A flow-injection-ICP system sequential multielemental analysis with simultaneously mercury(II) preconcentration step

A flow-injection system for multielemental analysis with a mercury(II) preconcentration step using a resin Chelite-S(R)(Serva Feinbiochemica Heidelberg, Part No. 41709) packed minicolumn by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy is described. A mercury reductive elution procedure with a mixture of SnCl2/HCl was used, which allows use of 6 mol/L HCl solution instead of concentrated hydrochoric acid. The main parameters related to ICP operation, such as radio frequency power (950-1750 W), auxiliary argon flow (0.0-1.5 L/min) and spray chamber nebulizer pressure (15-35 psi), were studied. Optimization of the FIA system was reached by defining the best eluent carrier stream (1.4-2.8 mL/min), Hgdegrees carrier stream (10-40 mL min(-1)), loading time (0.5-4.0 min), sample flow rate (1.25-10.0 mL/min), temperature of reactor gas liquid separator (GLS) (25-75 degreesC) and eluent volume (50-350 muL). Throughput is around 30 samples per hour for analytical solutions within the range 50-2500 ng Hg(II)/L. Results from certified material showed good precision (RSD < 3%, n = 12) and no statistical difference was observed for real samples analyzed by AAS and by the proposed system.

The role of organic matter on the adsorption of mercury in sediments from Amazon lakes, Brazil

Gold has been exploited intensively in the Brazilian Amazon during the past 20 years, and the elemental mercury (Hg) used in amalgamating the gold has caused abnormal Hg concentrations in waterways. Since 1986 particular attention has been given to the Madeira River because it is the largest tributary of the Amazon River and gold mining was officially allowed on a 350-km sector of the river. In this paper, samples of sediments from nine lakes located in the Madeira River basin, Rondonia State, Brazil, were analysed for mercury and organic matter. The average Hg content ranged between 33 and 157 ppb, which is about 8-40 times higher than the average value corresponding to 4.4 ppb for rocks occurring in the area (regional background). Significant correlation was found between the Hg content and organic matter in the sediments, indicating its importance on the retention of this heavy metal.