Development of a flow method for the determination of phosphate in estuarine and freshwaters—Comparison of flow cells in spectrophotometric sequential injection analysis

Real-Time Underway Mapping of Nutrient Concentrations of Surface Seawater Using an Autonomous Flow Analyzer

High-frequency field nutrient analyzers offer a promising technology to solve time-consuming and laborious sampling problems in dynamic and complex river-estuarine-coastal ecosystems. However, few studies on the simultaneous underway analysis of five key nutrients (ammonium, nitrite, nitrate, phosphate, and silicate) in seawaters are available because of the limitations of the technique. In this study, a state-of-the-art autonomous portable analyzer for the shipboard analysis of nutrients in the environment of varied salinities and concentration ranges was reported. The analyzer consisted of compact hardware that was well suited for shipboard deployment with minimal maintenance. Moreover, a novel LabVIEW-based software program was developed, containing additional functions such as automated calibration curve generation, autodilution of high-concentration samples, and a user-friendly interface for multiparameter analysis using a single instrument. After the optimization of chemical reactions and work flow chart, the analyzer exhibited low limits of detection, a large linear range with automated dilution, and relative standard deviations of less than 2% (n = 11). Compared to other flow-based techniques, this analyzer is more portable and consumes less reagent with an autonomous data processing function and applicability within a broad salinity range (0-35). The analyzer was successfully applied for real-time analysis in the Jiulong River Estuary-Xiamen Bay with excellent on-site accuracy and applicability. The relationship between high spatial resolution nutrient concentrations and salinities showed very different patterns in estuarine and coastal areas, indicating the benefit of using an underway automated analyzer for chemical mapping in a dynamic environment.

Determination of phosphorus in water and chemical fertilizer samples using a simple drawing microfluidic paper-based analytical device

A simple one-step drawing for the cost-effective fabrication of microfluidic paper-based analytical devices (µPADs) for the determination of phosphate content in water and fertilizer samples is presented in this paper. The hydrophobic barrier of µPAD was patterned using a 2-mm tip marker pen using a transparent acrylic sheet template. The molybdenum blue reaction using ascorbic acid as a reducing agent was used. A pre-concentration step of samples is proposed to improve the sensitivity of the measurement. The blue complex produced on the µPADs was recorded using a smartphone camera. The color intensities (red, green, blue and gray) were analyzed using ImageJ program. The proposed µPAD method provides a linear calibration range from 0 to 100 mg L^-1 P. The limit of detection (LOD) was found to be 0.7 mg L^-1 P with a precision of 3.1%RSD for 50 mg L^-1 P (n = 10). The proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of phosphorus contents in water and liquid chemical fertilizer samples. The results obtained from µPAD agreed with a spectrophotometric method using paired t test at a 95% confidence level.

Retrieval of water quality parameters from hyperspectral images using a hybrid feedback deep factorization machine model

Environmental protection of water resources is of critical importance to daily life of human beings. In recent years, monitoring the variation of water quality using remote sensing techniques has become prevalent. Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) based remote sensing techniques have been applied to quantitative retrieval of concentrations of water quality parameters including phosphorus, nitrogen, chemical oxygen demand (COD), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), and chlorophyll a (Chl-a), successfully and efficiently. In this study, a novel method with deep factorization machine, spatial distribution pattern analysis, and probabilistic analysis engaged, named hybrid feedback deep factorization machine (HF-DFM), has been developed to quantitatively estimate concentrations of water quality parameters based on hyperspectral reflectance data on large scale effectively. Our proposed method is a unified model for quantifying concentrations of water quality parameters with an end to end structure, which integrates UAV based optical remote sensing techniques and deep learning to estimate concentrations of water quality parameters. Furthermore, our proposed model was applied to real-time quantitative monitoring the variation of water quality of Mazhou River, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China. Finally, we evaluate the performance of proposed model on a real-world dataset in terms of root of mean squared error (RMSE), mean absolute percent error (MAPE), and coefficient of determination (R²). The experimental results show that our proposed model outperforms other state-of-the-art models with respect to RMSE, MAPE, and R², where resulting MAPEs for quantifying all water quality parameters range from 8.78% to 12.36%, and resulting R²s range from 0.81 to 0.93. It can serve as a useful tool for decision makers in effectively monitoring water quality of urban rivers.

Determination of phosphate in water by flow coulometry

In this work, the possibility of flow coulometry application as coulometric titration was studied. The method was used to analyze phosphates in wastewater samples. The principle of the determination consisted in the formation of molybdophosphate and its subsequent one-electron electrolytic reduction. The present method is applicable under optimal conditions in the concentration range of 1.5 × 10−6 to 5.5 × 10−5 mol/dm3. Detection limit of the method is 3.42 × 10−7 mol/dm3. Mineralization step has been proved a problem in total phosphate content determination. If mineralization was not carried out, only inorganic soluble phosphates were determined. It is a new method characterized by its simplicity of instrumentation and handling, which is a prerequisite for its further use in the field of trace analysis.

Development of an In Situ Analyzer Based on Sequential Injection Analysis and Liquid Waveguide Capillary Flow Cell for the Determination of Dissolved Reactive Phosphorus in Natural Waters

This study presents an innovative technique for the in situ analysis of aquatic biochemical elements detected through wet chemical processes. A new compact in situ phosphate analyzer based on sequential injection analysis, liquid waveguide capillary flow cell and spectrophotometry was developed, and a safe and modular electronics-chemical separation mechanical structure was designed. The sequential injection system of this analyzer was optimized, and the major functions of this analyzer were studied and estimated. With a 10 cm liquid waveguide capillary flow cell and a 6.3 min time cost of detection, the analyzer reaches a detection limit of 1.4 μg·L⁻¹ (≈14.7 nM, [PO₄³⁻]) and a consumption of 23 μL at most for each reagent. This analyzer was operated in situ and online during two scientific research cruises in the Pearl River Estuary and northern South China Sea. The advantages of this analyzer include its simple versatile manifold, full automation, low chemical consumption and electronics-chemical separate safe structure. Long-term in situ performance of this analyzer will be validated in the future.

Exploitation of reaction mechanisms for sensitivity enhancement in the determination of phosphorus by sequential injection analysis

The molybdenum blue method using antimony and ascorbic acid was studied for the determination of phosphorus (as orthophosphate) by means of sequential injection analysis (SIA). In order to avoid the interference of the Schlieren effect in the photometric measurements a stopped-flow kinetic approach was adopted monitoring the absorbance of the reaction bolus inside the flow cell. Aiming at enhancing the sensitivity of the method, the effect of the order of addition of the reactants was studied. It was found that the best sensitivity was attained by adding separate reagents and acidifying only after the phosphate, molybdate and antimony solutions were already mixed; the reductant (ascorbic acid) was then added. In this way a sensitivity enhancement in excess of 10 times was obtained when compared to the addition of the phosphate solution to the acidified mixture of molybdate and antimony. It is proposed that the difference in sensitivities could be explained by the existence of different mechanisms for the formation of the intermediate phosphoantimonyl molybdic acid (PMA). Thus the selected sequence in the order of addition, where sulphuric acid is added to the mixture of the other reactants would lead to higher production of PMA in turn conducting to a faster reduction reaction. The resulting SIA method was validated finding limits of detection (3s/m) and quantification (10s/m) of 0.0077 and 0.026 mg-P L^-1 respectively. Linearity was confirmed in the range up to 2 mg-P L^-1. Precisions (s_r, n = 10) were in the range 1.8%-4.0%. 32 water samples of different types and origins were analysed by the proposed method and by ion chromatography, obtaining a regression curve y = 0.990× - 0.0019, with a determination coefficient R² = 0.973.

A Lab-on-Chip Analyzer for in Situ Measurement of Soluble Reactive Phosphate: Improved Phosphate Blue Assay and Application to Fluvial Monitoring

Here, we present a new in situ microfluidic phosphate sensor that features an improved "phosphate blue" assay which includes polyvinylpyrrolidone in place of traditional surfactants-improving sensitivity and reducing temperature effects. The sensor features greater power economy and analytical performance relative to commercially available alternatives, with a mean power consumption of 1.8 W, a detection limit of 40 nM, a dynamic range of 0.14-10 μM, and an infield accuracy of 4 ± 4.5%. During field testing, the sensor was continuously deployed for 9 weeks in a chalk stream, revealing complex relations between flow rates and phosphate concentration that suggest changing dominance in phosphate sources. A distinct diel phosphorus signal was observed under low flow conditions, highlighting the ability of the sensor to decouple geochemical and biotic effects on phosphate dynamics in fluvial environments. This paper highlights the importance of high resolution in situ sensors in addressing the current gross under-sampling of aquatic environments.

Recent developments in sensing methods for eutrophying nutrients with a focus on automation for environmental applications

A comprehensive review focusing on eutrophying nutrient monitoring using autonomous sensors, including novel analysis methods, standard analysis methods and state-of-the-art sensor technology.

Air segmented amplitude modulated multiplexed flow analysis with software-based phase recognition: determination of phosphate ion

Amplitude modulated multiplexed flow analysis (AMMFA) has been improved by introducing air segmentation and software-based phase recognition. Sample solutions, the flow rates of which are respectively varied at different frequencies, are merged. Air is introduced to the merged liquid stream in order to limit the dispersion of analytes within each liquid segment separated by air bubbles. The stream is led to a detector with no physical deaeration. Air signals are distinguished from liquid signals through the analysis of detector output signals, and are suppressed down to the level of liquid signals. Resulting signals are smoothed based on moving average computation. Thus processed signals are analyzed by fast Fourier transform. The analytes in the samples are respectively determined from the amplitudes of the corresponding wave components obtained. The developed system has been applied to the simultaneous determinations of phosphate ions in water samples by a Malachite Green method. The linearity of the analytical curve (0.0-31.0 μmol dm(-3)) is good (r(2)>0.999) and the detection limit (3.3 σ) at the modulation period of 30s is 0.52 μmol dm(-3). Good recoveries around 100% have been obtained for phosphate ions spiked into real water samples.

A method to measure hydrolytic activity of adenosinetriphosphatases (ATPases)

The detection of small amounts (nanomoles) of inorganic phosphate has a great interest in biochemistry. In particular, phosphate detection is useful to evaluate the rate of hydrolysis of phosphatases, that are enzymes able to remove phosphate from their substrate by hydrolytic cleavage. The hydrolysis rate is correlated to enzyme activity, an extremely important functional parameter. Among phosphatases there are the cation transporting adenosinetriphosphatases (ATPases), that produce inorganic phosphate by cleavage of the γ-phosphate of ATP. These membrane transporters have many fundamental physiological roles and are emerging as potential drug targets. ATPase hydrolytic activity is measured to test enzyme functionality, but it also provides useful information on possible inhibitory effects of molecules that interfere with the hydrolytic process. We have optimized a molybdenum-based protocol that makes use of potassium antimony (III) oxide tartrate (originally employed for phosphate detection in environmental analysis) to allow its use with phosphatase enzymes. In particular, the method was successfully applied to native and recombinant ATPases to demonstrate its reliability, validity, sensitivity and versatility. Our method introduces significant improvements to well-established experimental assays, which are currently employed for ATPase activity measurements. Therefore, it may be valuable in biochemical and biomedical investigations of ATPase enzymes, in combination with more specific tests, as well as in high throughput drug screening.

More with less: Advances in flow and paper-based monitoring of nutrients in aquatic systems

This paper highlights the importance of the collection of data that is of suitable quality and of appropriate frequency and/or spatial intensity for the monitoring of aquatic systems. The advantages of automated techniques, such as flow analysis, in monitoring are emphasized, as is the selection of parameters that address the objectives of monitoring. The potential of nascent microfluidic and paper-based analytical techniques as tools for water quality monitoring is examined.