Electroanalytical methods for the determination of sulfite in food and beverages

Critical comparison between modified Monier-Williams and electrochemical methods to determine sulfite in aqueous solutions

In the present work, known concentration of sulfite aqueous solutions in the presence and absence of gallic acid was measured to corroborate the validity of modified Monier-Williams method. Free and bound-sulfite was estimated by differential pulse voltammetry. To our surprise, the modified Monier-Williams method (also known as aspiration method) showed to be very inaccurate for free-sulfite, although suitable for bound-sulfite determination. The differential pulse approach, using the standard addition method and a correction coefficient, proved to be swift, cheap, and very precise and accurate.

A ratiometric fluorescent probe for bisulphite anion, employing intramolecular charge transfer

4-(1H-benzimidazol-2-yl)benzaldehyde (1) has been developed as a new ratiometric fluorescent probe for bisulphite, based on the modulation of intramolecular charge transfer (ICT). Upon mixing with bisulphite in aqueous ethanol, an aldehyde-bisulphite adduct was formed and the ICT of the probe was switched off, which resulted in a ratiometric fluorescence response with an enhancement of the ratios of emission intensities at 368 and 498 nm. The detection range of the probe for bisulphite is in the 2.0-200 µmol/L concentration range and the detection limit is 0.4 µmol/L. Probe 1 produces a ratiometric fluorescent response to bisulphite with a marked emission wavelength shift (130 nm) and displays high selectivity for bisulphite over other anions.

Core/shell Cu@Ag nanoparticle: a versatile platform for colorimetric visualization of inorganic anions

Recognition and sensing of anions in aqueous media have been of considerable interest while remaining a challenging task up to date. In this document, we wish to present a simple yet sensitive method to detect inorganic anions by colorimetry based on the citrate-stabilized core/shell Cu@Ag nanoparticle (NP). It was found that the NP could discriminate some specific anions (Cl(-), Br(-), I(-), S(2-), and SCN(-)) from a wide range of environmentally dominant anions (F(-), SO(4)(2-), H(2)PO(4)(-), CO(3)(2-), NO(3)(-), etc), identified by the change in the color of the buffered NP solution or the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) absorbance band in the UV-vis spectrum. Among the recognized anions, four types of variation in the SPR absorption band were revealed. It was strongly enhanced for Cl(-) and Br(-) and was strongly damped for S(2-). For I(-), it first was slightly enhanced at lower concentrations and then gradually was damped at higher concentrations. For SCN(-), it first was slightly damped at lower concentrations and then was strongly enhanced at higher concentrations. In response to the optical change, the color of the NP solution turned from brown to bright yellow for Cl(-) (1 mM), Br(-) (10 μM), and SCN(-) (50 μM) to brownish orange for I(-) (10 μM) and to reddish orange for S(2-) (50 μM). The reason for these phenomena was postulated by the evidence of transmission electron microscope (TEM) images, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and zeta potentials. In view of the importance of anions in the environment and for human health, the Cu@Ag NP colorimetric platform may have some applications, such as discriminating household table salt (NaCl) from industrial salt (NaNO(2)), testing the quality and extent of a variety of waters, and so forth.

Use of a membraneless extraction module for the voltammetric determination of total sulfites in wine

A recently developed membraneless extraction module (MLEM) for sample preparation aiming the analysis of volatile and semi-volatile compounds is applied in the voltammetric analysis of total sulfites in wine. Square-wave voltammetry (SWV) is very advantageous in this case because sulfur dioxide (SO2) is instrumentally directly detected. The developed method shows good repeatability (RSD lower than 5%) and linearity (between 20 to 220 mg l–1) as well as suitable limits of detection (6 mg l–1) and quantification (19 mg l–1). The proposed method was also compared with the reference methodology (an iodimetry, the Ripper method) showing no significant differences in the obtained results.

The use of cyclic voltammetry for wine analysis: determination of polyphenols and free sulfur dioxide

The use of cyclic voltammetry to characterize wines and wine polyphenols in a pH 3.3 model wine solution has been extended to take into account the effects of sulfur dioxide and polyphenol adsorption processes. A good correlation was obtained between a cyclic voltammetric measure, based upon the response produced before and after acetaldehyde additions, and the concentration of free sulfur dioxide in eight white wines (r(2)=0.974). By the addition of acetaldehyde to the white wines, an important new step in the methodology, the area under the anodic scan in the potential range from -100 to 1200 mV (Ag/AgCl) closely matched the spectroscopic measure of total polyphenols (absorbance at 280 nm) for the white wines, when both were measured in terms of caffeic acid equivalents (r(2)=0.949). The anodic peak area accounted for about 70% of the 280 nm total phenols measure, in catechin equivalents, for the red wines, and a good linear correlation was also obtained (r(2)=0.942). The level of catechol and galloyl-containing polyphenols in the wines was calculated by measuring the size of the first anodic peak at around 450 mV after treatment of the wines with acetaldehyde; the peak current correlated well with the total caffeic acid derivatives in the white wines determined by HPLC (r(2)=0.982). The concentration of flavonols was estimated by selective adsorption of these compounds onto the carbon electrode and determining the anodic peak current at 1120 mV, with good correlations obtained when compared to total flavonols as measured by HPLC (r(2)=0.984 for the red wines, and r(2)=0.987 for the white wines).

Detection of food additives by voltammetry at the liquid-liquid interface

Electrochemistry at the liquid-liquid interface enables the detection of nonredoxactive species with electroanalytical techniques. In this work, the electrochemical behavior of two food additives, aspartame and acesulfame K, was investigated. Both ions were found to undergo ion-transfer voltammetry at the liquid-liquid interface. Differential pulse voltammetry was used for the preparation of calibration curves over the concentration range of 30-350 microM with a detection limit of 30 microM. The standard addition method was applied to the determination of their concentrations in food and beverage samples such as sweeteners and sugar-free beverages. Selective electrochemically modulated liquid-liquid extraction of these species in both laboratory solutions and in beverage samples was also demonstrated. These results indicate the suitability of liquid-liquid electrochemistry as an analytical approach in food analysis.