Speciation of Inorganic Antimony in Food and Water Samples by Flow Injection On-line Nano γ-Alumina Micro-column Solid-Phase Extraction Coupled with Slotted Tube Atom Trapping Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometry

In-syringe solid phase extraction and in-syringe vortex-assisted solidified floating organic drop microextraction of Sb(III) and Sb(V) in rice wines with determination by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry

The current non-chromatographic speciation methods generally involve the conversion of different species by oxidation/reduction reactions, which may cause inherent problems such as contamination risk, time consumption and complex operations. In this work, in-syringe solid phase extraction (IS-SPE) was combined with in-syringe vortex-assisted solidified floating organic drop microextraction (IS-VA-SFODME) for the detection of Sb(V) and Sb(III) in rice wines by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. Firstly, IS-SPE involved the use of ZnFe₂O₄ nanotubes as the sorbent for the isolation and enrichment of Sb(V) and removal of the matrix components such as ethanol, pigment, sugars and carbohydrates. Then, IS-VA-SFODME was used for enriching Sb(III) in the original sample solution after IS-SPE. This technique exhibited good anti-interference ability and high enrichment efficiency without tedious pre-oxidation/pre-reduction and centrifugation/filtration operations, which may cause the contamination of samples. Under the selected conditions, the detection limits were 4.5 ng L^-1 and 3.2 ng L^-1 for Sb(III) and Sb(V) with relative standard deviations of 7.3% and 5.1%, respectively. This procedure was used with satisfactory results for the detection of Sb(III) and Sb(V) in rice wine samples and a certified reference material of water sample. Recoveries of spiked experiments ranged from 91.0 to 107%.

Trace determination of cobalt in biological fluids based on preconcentration with a new competitive ligand using dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction combined with slotted quartz tube-flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry

A new competitive ligand has been synthesized for the preconcentration to obtain lower detection limits by using dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction combined with slotted quartz tube-flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry (DLLME-SQT-FAAS). The proposed method is simple, eco-friendly and has high sensitivity. The preconcentration procedure was optimized on the basis of various parameters affecting the complex formation and extraction efficiency such as pH and volume of buffer solution, volume of ligand solution, mixing period, volume and type of extraction solvent, volume and type of dispersive solvent, and salt effect. Instrumental parameters were also optimized to get higher sensitivity. Under the optimum conditions, the calibration graph was linear in the range of 10-250 ng mL^-1and the resulted limits of detection and quantification (LOD and LOQ) for combined method were 4.7 and 15.7 ng mL^-1, respectively. The detection power was improved 48-fold using DLLME-SQT-FAAS method compared to conventional FAAS. The precision of the method was found to be high with a relative standard deviation of 2.5%. The accuracy of method was evaluated by recovery experiments using matrix matching study on spiked urine and blood samples. The recoveries for urine and blood samples ranged from 99.8 to 108.9% and 102.5 to 110.0%, respectively.

An efficient mercapto-functionalized organic–inorganic hybrid sorbent for selective separation and preconcentration of antimony(iii) in water samples

This work reported on the application of mercapto-functionalized silica-supported organic–inorganic hybrid sorbent as a solid phase extraction (SPE) extractant for effective separation and preconcentration of Sb(iii) species in real water samples. The influences of pH, sorbent amounts, flow rates and the concentration of eluent on the adsorption and desorption of Sb(iii) species had been evaluated. The recovery of Sb(iii) species at pH 5 with 100 mg mercapto-functionalized hybrid sorbent at the flow rate of 5.0 mL min⁻¹ was greater than 95% without interference from all of metal ions tested. The trapped Sb(iii) species by extractant was then eluted with 5% HCl solution at the flow rate of 5.0 mL min⁻¹. The proposed procedure permitted large enrichment factors of about 200 and higher for 10 μg L⁻¹ of Sb(iii) species. The merits of analytical figures for the determination of Sb(iii) species were as follows: detection limit (3σ, n = 11), 2 ng L⁻¹; precision, 1.6% (n = 11) for 10 μg L⁻¹ of Sb(iii) species; the linear calibration curve presented in the concentration range of 1.0–200.0 μg L⁻¹. The validity of the proposed procedure was checked by the analysis of standard reference materials. Excellent agreement between the analytical results and the certified values (t-test at 95% confidence level) was found. The mercapto-functionalized hybrid sorbent as a SPE extractant was applied to the determination of Sb(iii) species in various water samples with satisfactory results.

This work reported on the application of mercapto-functionalized silica-supported organic–inorganic hybrid sorbent as a solid phase extraction (SPE) extractant for effective separation and preconcentration of Sb(iii) species in real water samples.

The relative sensitivity of freshwater species to antimony(III): Implications for water quality guidelines and ecological risk assessments

Antimony (Sb) is a pollutant in many jurisdictions, yet its threat to aquatic biota is unclear. Water quality guidelines (WQGs) for Sb are not well established and large uncertainty factors are commonly applied in derivation. We constructed freshwater species sensitivity distributions (SSDs) for Sb(III) using available acute toxicity data sourced from temperate and tropical regional studies. A tiered ecological risk assessment (ERA) approach using risk quotients (RQs) was applied for characterisation of risks presented by Sb(III) concentrations measured in the freshwater environment. Multiple parametric models were fitted for each SSD, with the optimal model used to derive the 5% hazardous concentration (HC5), defined as protective of 95% of species, and the corresponding predicted no effect concentration (PNEC). The HC5 values for whole and temperate SSDs were estimated at 781 and 976 μg L^-1 Sb(III), respectively, while the PNECs for both datasets were 156 and 195 μg L^-1 Sb(III), respectively. Due to limited tropical data, a temperate-to-tropic extrapolation factor of 10 was used to estimate an interim PNEC for tropical regions of 20 μg L^-1 Sb(III). Based on published freshwater Sb(III) concentration values across a range of locations, potential ecological risks posed by Sb(III) in some freshwater systems studied would be classified as medium to high risk, but the majority of locations sampled would fall into the low ecological risk category. Our results facilitate the understanding of toxic effects of Sb(III) to freshwater species but also demonstrate that data for Sb ERA are extremely limited.

Speciation of very low amounts of antimony in waters using magnetic core-modified silver nanoparticles and electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

A micro-solid phase extraction procedure for the separation and preconcentration of antimony based in the use of magnetic particles covered with silver nanoparticles functionalized with the sodium salt of 2-mercaptoethane-sulphonate (MESNa) is discussed. After separation by means of a magnetic field, the solid phase is directly introduced into an electrothermal atomizer for antimony determination. Alternatively, the solid can be slurried and then injected into the atomizer. In all cases, palladium nitrate is used as a chemical modifier. The preconcentration factors are close to 205 and 325, with detection limits of 0.02 and 0.03µgL^-1 antimony, for the slurry and solid sampling procedures, respectively. Speciation of Sb(III) and Sb(V) is achieved by means of two extractions carried out at different acidity. The results for total antimony are verified using certified reference materials. Water samples are analyzed for antimony speciation.