Improving the chemiluminescence-based determination of sulphide in complex environmental samples by using a new, automated multi-syringe flow injection analysis system coupled to a gas diffusion unit

On-site and high-resolution spectrophotometric measurement of total dissolved sulfide in natural waters

Reliable high-resolution data is essential for understanding the aquatic sulfur biogeochemical processes. However, the accurate quantification of total dissolved sulfide (TDS) remains challenging due to its low concentration and vulnerability to oxidation. Furthermore, the frequency and the spatial coverage of TDS measurements are constrained by the cost of the laboratory analysis. In this study, an automated portable system was developed for on-site real-time measurement of trace TDS in natural waters. This system was based on the classic methylene blue (MB) spectrophotometric assay combined with on-line solid phase extraction (SPE) and flow injection analysis (FIA). A commercially available weak-cation-exchange cartridge was used as the SPE sorbent. Experimental parameters affecting the performance of the proposed system were optimized. Under the optimized conditions, linear calibration range of 0.02-2.50 μmol L^-1 was obtained with a sample loading volume of 5.0 mL and a sample throughput of 12 h^-1. The limit of detection could be lowered to 0.003 μmol L^-1 by pre-concentrating 10.0 mL sample. The precision, determined as the relative standard deviation (RSD), was <2.75 % (n = 11) and the recoveries from spiked samples ranged from 54.4 % to 97.5 % with RSDs of 1.1-2.3 % (n = 3). Furthermore, the FIA-SPE-MB system was successfully deployed in the Taihu Lake for continuous 48 h monitoring of variations in TDS, demonstrating the applicability of this system for on-site TDS measurement in natural waters.

Improving the measurement of total dissolved sulfide in natural waters: A new on-site flow injection analysis method

Total dissolved sulfide (TDS) plays multiple important roles in the aquatic environments. However, the determination of trace levels of TDS in natural waters is challenging because TDS is vulnerable to oxidation and volatilization. In this study, a fully automated flow injection analysis spectrophotometric system, incorporating a hollow fiber membrane contactor (HFMC) and a long path length liquid waveguide capillary cell, was fabricated to facilitate the on-site measurement of trace TDS in natural waters. The HFMC was used for matrix separation and analyte preconcentration. The measurement was based on the reaction of sulfide and N,N-dimethyl-p-phenylenediamine in the presence of FeCl₃ under acidic conditions to yield methylene blue (MB). The proposed method was highly sensitive, with detection and quantification limits of 0.57 and 1.90 nmol L^-1, respectively. The linear working range was from 1.90 to 150 nmol L^-1, with a correlation coefficient of 0.9995. The repeatability, expressed as the relative standard deviation, was less than 0.86% (n = 15) and the recoveries varied from 76.2 ± 0.1% to 103.9 ± 0.6% (n = 3) for spiked samples. This method was applied to conduct a field analysis of TDS in a reservoir, giving results aligned with those obtained using a standard MB method. This work demonstrates that the new method for determining TDS was effective for both laboratory analysis and on-site measurement.

Determination of nanomolar dissolved sulfides in water by coupling the classical methylene blue method with surface-enhanced Raman scattering detection

In this study, we proposed a novel method for the determination of nanomolar dissolved sulfides, including H₂S, HS^-, and S^2- (defined as S(-II)) in water by coupling the classical methylene blue (MB) method with surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) detection. Overall, the following analytical procedures were employed: i) precipitation of S(-II) as zinc sulfide, ii) centrifugation to collect zinc sulfide, iii) derivatization of S(-II) to MB by the reaction with N, N-dimethyl-p-phenylenediamine in the presence of FeCl₃ under acidic conditions, and iv) SERS detection. Parameters affecting the derivatization and SERS detection were optimized. Under the optimized conditions, a linear range of 12.3 nmol/L-200 nmol/L for S(-II) was obtained with a correlation coefficient (R²) of 0.99. Limits of detection and quantification of the developed method were estimated to be 3.7 nmol/L and 12.3 nmol/L, respectively. In addition, the proposed method demonstrated excellent tolerance to coexisting substances, such as NO₂^-, NO₃^-, SO₃^2-, and other common ions. The proposed method demonstrates immense promise for the determination of nanomolar S(-II) in surface waters and wastewater.

Reaction-based ratiometric fluorescent probe for selective recognition of sulfide anions with a large Stokes shift through switching on ESIPT

Ratiometric fluorescent probe BNPT has been synthesized and characterized for S²⁻ sensing via ESIPT mechanism.

Flow analysis with chemiluminescence detection: Recent advances and applications

This article highlights the most important developments in flow analysis with chemiluminescence (CL) detection, describing different flow systems that are compatible with CL detection, detector designs, commonly applied CL reactions and approaches to sample treatment. Recent applications of flow analysis with CL detection (focusing on outputs published since 2010) are also presented. Applications are classified by sample matrix, covering foods and beverages, environmental matrices, pharmaceuticals and biological fluids. Comprehensive tables are provided for each area, listing the specific sample matrix, CL reaction used, linear range, limit of detection and sample treatment for each analyte. Finally, recent and emerging trends in the field are also discussed.

A β-diketonate–europium(iii) complex-based fluorescent probe for highly sensitive time-gated luminescence detection of copper and sulfide ions in living cells

A strongly fluorescent β-diketonate–europium(iii) complex was developed for highly sensitive imaging of intracellular copper and sulfide ions with time-gated luminescence mode.

A total analytical system featuring a novel solid-liquid extraction chamber for solid sample flow analysis

In this work, a total flow analysis system based on a novel solid-liquid extraction chamber is presented. This strategy enables all the main experimental procedures for the analysis of a solid sample to be performed automatically: enrichment of the liquid extract, sample treatment, filtration of the liquid extract from the solid sample, directing the extract towards detection, and finally cleansing of the chamber for the following solid sample to be analyzed. The chamber designed to be incorporated in the flow manifold presents two main features: it accommodates stirring bars for enhancing the extraction process, and it presents replaceable solid sample containers (a spare part of the solid-liquid extraction chamber) to easily replace the solid sample and therefore enhance sample analysis throughput. The chamber performance was assessed using two different solid samples, an ion exchanger resin and vegetable samples, focussing on proton and nitrate ion extraction, respectively. The main figures of merit achieved were relative standard deviation (RSD) and relative error values below 7 % for all determinations. The determination rate for vegetable samples was ca. 12 samples h-1. The proposed strategy may be exploited to perform automatically the analysis of solid samples as it embodies a simple automatic strategy of a very important but time-consuming and laborious analytical operation. Graphical abstract TAS for solid liquid extraction and nitrate potentiometric determination of vegetable samples.

Ultrasensitive detection of sulfide ions through interactions between sulfide ions and Au(iii) quenching the fluorescence of chitosan microspheres functionalized with rhodamine B and modified with Au(iii)

A rapid and facile fluorescence probe for detecting sulfide ions was developed. The probe can be completely regenerated and was easily separated. The approach described here is a new and convenient way of developing reusable fluorescence probes.

Intracellular detection of Cu(2+) and S(2-) ions through a quinazoline functionalized benzimidazole-based new fluorogenic differential chemosensor

A new quinazoline functionalized benzimidazole-based fluorogenic chemosensor H3L is synthesized and fully characterized by conventional techniques including single crystal X-ray analysis. It acts as a highly selective colorimetric and fluorescence sensor for Cu(2+) ions in DMF/0.02 M HEPES (1 : 1, v/v, pH = 7.4) medium. Reaction of H3L with CuCl2 forms a mononuclear copper(ii) [Cu(Cl)(H2L)(H2O)] (H2L-Cu(2+)) complex which is characterized by conventional techniques and quantum chemical calculations. Electronic absorption and fluorescence titration studies of H3L with different metal cations show a distinctive recognition only towards Cu(2+) ions even in the presence of other commonly coexisting ions such as Li(+), Na(+), K(+), Mg(2+), Ca(2+), Fe(2+), Fe(3+), Mn(2+), Co(2+), Ni(2+), Zn(2+), Cd(2+) and Hg(2+). Moreover, H2L-Cu(2+) acts as a metal based highly selective and sensitive chemosensor for S(2-) ions even in the presence of other commonly coexisting anions such as F(-), Cl(-), Br(-), I(-), SO4(2-), SCN(-), AcO(-), H2PO4(-), PO4(3-), NO3(-), ClO4(-), NO2(-), HSO4(-), HSO4(2-), S2O3(2-), S2O8(2-), CN(-), CO3(2-) and HCO3(-) in DMF/0.02 M HEPES (1 : 1, v/v, pH = 7.4) medium. Quantification analysis indicates that these receptors, H3L and H2L-Cu(2+), can detect the presence of Cu(2+) and S(2-) ions at very low concentrations of 1.6 × 10(-9) M and 5.2 × 10(-6) M, respectively. The propensity of H3L as a bio-imaging fluorescent probe for detection of Cu(2+) ions and sequential detection of S(2-) ions by H2L-Cu(2+) in Dalton lymphoma (DL) cancer cells is also shown.

A new selective chromogenic and turn-on fluorogenic probe for copper(ii) in solution and vero cells: recognition of sulphide by [CuL]

A new coumarin-appended thioimidazole-linked imine conjugate,viz.Lhas been synthesized and characterized for a selectiveturn-onfluorescence chemosensor for Cu²⁺.

Fluorescent sensing of sulfide ions based on papain-directed gold nanoclusters

This fluorescence sensing system showed excellent performance and could be applied to the determination of S²⁻ in natural water samples.

A colorimetric Boolean INHIBIT logic gate for the determination of sulfide based on citrate-capped gold nanoparticles

An INHIBIT logic gate is designed based on citrate-capped gold nanoparticles and successfully utilized to the determination of sulfide.

Micelle mediated trace level sulfide quantification through cloud point extraction

A simple cloud point extraction protocol has been proposed for the quantification of sulfide at trace level. The method is based on the reduction of iron (III) to iron (II) by the sulfide and the subsequent complexation of metal ion with nitroso-R salt in alkaline medium. The resulting green-colored complex was extracted through cloud point formation using cationic surfactant, that is, cetylpyridinium chloride, and the obtained surfactant phase was homogenized by ethanol before its absorbance measurement at 710 nm. The reaction variables like metal ion, ligand, surfactant concentration, and medium pH on the cloud point extraction of the metal-ligand complex have been optimized. The interference effect of the common anions and cations was studied. The proposed method has been successfully applied to quantify the trace level sulfide in the leachate samples of the landfill and water samples from bore wells and ponds. The validity of the proposed method has been studied by spiking the samples with known quantities of sulfide as well as comparing with the results obtained by the standard method.

Fluorescent method for the determination of sulfide anion with ZnS:Mn quantum dots

Water-soluble Mn(2+)-doped ZnS quantum dots (QDs) were prepared using mercaptoacetic acid as the stabilizer. The optical properties and structure features were characterized by X-Ray, absorption spectrum, IR spectrum and fluorescence spectrum. In pH 7.8 Tris-HCl buffer, the QDs emitted strong fluorescence peaked at 590 nm with excitation wavelength at 300 nm. The presence of sulfide anion resulted in the quenching of fluorescence and the intensity decrease was proportional to the S(2-) concentration. The linear range was from 2.5 x 10(-6) to 3.8 x 10(-5) mol L(-1) with detection limit as 1.5 x 10(-7) mol L(-1). Most anions such as F(-), Cl(-), Br(-), I(-), CH(3)CO(2) (-), ClO(4) (-), CO(3) (2-), NO(2) (-), NO(3) (-), S(2)O(3) (2-), SO(3) (2-) and SO(4) (2-) did not interfere with the determination. Thus a highly selective assay was proposed and applied to the determination of S(2-) in discharged water with the recovery of ca. 103%.