An investigation on TiO2-assisted photo-oxidation of thymine

Sequential photocatalyst-assisted digestion and vapor generation device coupled with anion exchange chromatography and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry for speciation analysis of selenium species in biological samples

We have developed an on-line sequential photocatalyst-assisted digestion and vaporization device (SPADVD), which operates through the nano-TiO2-catalyzed photo-oxidation and reduction of selenium (Se) species, for coupling between anion exchange chromatography (LC) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) systems to provide a simple and sensitive hyphenated method for the speciation analysis of Se species without the need for conventional chemical digestion and vaporization techniques. Because our proposed on-line SPADVD allows both organic and inorganic Se species in the column effluent to be converted on-line into volatile Se products, which are then measured directly through ICP-MS, the complexity of the procedure and the probability of contamination arising from the use of additional chemicals are both low. Under the optimized conditions for SPADVD - using 1g of nano-TiO2 per liter, at pH 3, and illuminating for 80 s - we found that Se(IV), Se(VI), and selenomethionine (SeMet) were all converted quantitatively into volatile Se products. In addition, because the digestion and vaporization efficiencies of all the tested selenicals were improved when using our proposed on-line LC/SPADVD/ICP-MS system, the detection limits for Se(IV), Se(VI), and SeMet were all in the nanogram-per-liter range (based on 3σ). A series of validation experiments - analysis of neat and spiked extracted samples - indicated that our proposed methods could be applied satisfactorily to the speciation analysis of organic and inorganic Se species in the extracts of Se-enriched supplements.

An investigation on electron transfer quenching of zinc(II) meso-tetraphenylporphyrin (ZnTPP) by colloidal TiO(2)

The interaction of zinc(II) meso-tetraphenylporphyrin (ZnTPP) with colloidal TiO(2) was studied by absorption, steady state and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy. The quenching was found to obey the Stern-Volmer equation and the corresponding Stern-Volmer plots were linear in the range of quencher concentration used 0-5 x 10(-4)M. The bimolecular quenching rate constants (k(q)) were 20.5 x 10(10)M(-1)s(-1) (steady-state) and 2.85 x 10(10)M(-1)s(-1) (time resolved). The quenching process is suggested to involve electron transfer from the ZnTPP to TiO(2) considering the experimental evidences obtained.