Determination of trace amounts of thiocyanate by a new kinetic procedure based on an induction period

Development of a miniaturized photometer with paired emitter-detector light-emitting diodes for investigating thiocyanate levels in the saliva of smokers and non-smokers

A simple, small and inexpensive photometer that uses a pair of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and a simple operational amplifier was developed for investigating thiocyanate levels in saliva obtained from smokers and non-smokers. The photometer is based on paired emitter-detector diodes (PEDDs), and the entire system can be purchased for less than a hundred US dollars. The PEDD-based photometer can measure the transmittance of a solution in a 1-cm disposable polystyrene cuvette using only rechargeable dry-cell batteries, which makes it suitable for analysis outside of equipped laboratories. The metal complex formation between Fe (III) and thiocyanate ions in an acidic condition permits colorimetric detection of thiocyanate ions using LEDs emitting at 465 nm, because the complex shows maximum absorption at 457 nm. The developed photometer exhibits excellent performance with linearity ranging from 0.05 mmol L^-1 to 0.75 mmol L^-1 and a correlation coefficient (r²) > 0.999. The limits of detection and quantification were 0.01 mmol L^-1 and 0.05 mmol L^-1, respectively. Both intra- and inter-day precision were obtained with relative standard deviations (RSD) of less than 1% in the determination of thiocyanate. The proposed method is simple, facile, and sensitive enough to investigate the levels of thiocyanate in the saliva samples of smokers and non-smokers with centrifugation being the only special treatment for samples. The results showed that the concentrations of thiocyanate were approximately 5-fold higher in smokers than in non-smokers.

An on-line spectrophotometric determination of trace amounts of thiourea in tap water, orange juice, and orange peel samples using multi-channel flow injection analysis

In this work, a flow injection analysis (FIA) method was introduced for the determination of trace amounts of thiourea in tap water. This method is based upon the inhibition effect of thiourea on the reaction between meta-cresol purple (MCP) and potassium bromate catalyzed by bromide ions in a sulfuric acid medium. In the presence of thiourea, an induction period appears in the reaction system, and as a result, the absorbance of MCP increases at 525 nm in the FIA manifold. The chemical and FIA variables are studied and optimized using the univariate and Simplex optimization methods. Under the optimum conditions, thiourea can be determined in the range of 0.100-13.0 μg mL(-1). The limit of detection (3σ) for thiourea was found to be 0.0310 μg mL(-1). The relative standard deviations (RSDs) for six replicate determinations of 0.500, 5.00, and 12.0 μg mL(-1) of thiourea were 4.0%, 1.8%, and 1.2%, respectively. The proposed method was also applied for the determination of thiourea in orange juice and orange peel samples with recoveries in the range of 98.0-101%. The analytical speed of the method was calculated to be about 120 sample per hour.

Kinetics and mechanism of the oxidation of bromide by periodate in aqueous acidic solution

The periodate–bromide reaction has been studied spectrophotometrically mainly in excess of bromide ion, monitoring the formation of the total amount of bromine at 450 nm at acidic buffered conditions and at a constant ionic strength in the presence of a phosphoric acid/dihydrogen phosphate buffer. The stoichiometry of the reaction was established to be strictly IO4(–) + 2Br(–) + 2H(+) → Br2 + IO3(–) + H2O. The formal kinetic order of the reactants was found to be perfectly one and two in the cases of periodate and bromide, respectively, but that of the hydrogen ion lies between one and two. We have also provided experimental evidence that dihydrogen phosphate accelerates the formation of bromine, suggesting the appearance of strong buffer assistance. On the basis of the experiments, a simple two-step kinetic model is proposed involving BrIO3 as a key intermediate that perfectly explains all of the experimental findings. Furthermore, we have also shown that in huge excess of bromide, the apparent rate coefficient obtained from the individual curve fitting method of the absorbance–time series is necessarily independent of the initial periodate concentration that may falsely be interpreted as the rate of bromine formation is also independent of the concentration of periodate.

Determination of Thiocyanate by Kinetic Spectrophotometric Flow Injection Analysis

A simple and rapid flow injection spectrophotometric method has been developed for the determination of amount of thiocyanate in wastewaters and well water samples. It is based on the reaction of thiocyanate in hydrochloric acid with janus green and bromate. Reaction was monitored spectrophotometrically by measuring janus green absorbance atλmax=554 nm. The calibration graph was linear over the range 0.02–1.0 μg mL−1and the detection limit was 0.016μg mL−1(s/n=3). The throughput was 25 samples per hour.

Kinetic spectrophotometric method for trace determination of thiocyanate based on its inhibitory effect

A kinetic spectrophotometric method for the determination of thiocyanate, based on its inhibitory effect on silver(I) catalyzed substitution of cyanide ion, by phenylhydrazine in hexacyanoferrate(II) is described. Thiocyanate ions form strong complexes with silver(I) catalyst which is used as the basis for its determination at trace level. The progress of reaction was monitored, spectrophotometrically, at 488 nm (lambda(max) of [Fe(CN)(5)PhNHNH(2)](3-), complex) under the optimum reaction conditions at: 2.5x10(-3)M [Fe(CN)(6)](4-), 1.0x10(-3)M [PhNHNH(2)], 8.0x10(-7)M [Ag(+)], pH 2.8+/-0.02, ionic strength (mu) 0.02 M (KNO(3)) and temperature 30+/-0.1 degrees C. A linear relationship obtained between absorbance (measured at 488 nm at different times) and inhibitor concentration, under specified conditions, has been used for the determination of [thiocyanate] in the range of 0.8-8.0x10(-8)M with a detection limit of 2x10(-9)M. The standard deviation and percentage error have been calculated and reported with each datum. A most plausible mechanistic scheme has been proposed for the reaction. The values of equilibrium constants for complex formation between catalyst-inhibitor (K(CI)), catalyst-substrate (K(s)) and Michaelis-Menten constant (K(m)) have been computed from the kinetic data. The influence of possible interference by major cations and anions on the determination of thiocyanate and their limits has been investigated.

Determination of trace thiocyanate with nano-silver coated multi-walled carbon nanotubes modified glassy carbon electrode

Novel nano-silver coated multi-walled carbon nanotube composites were prepared and used to fabricate a modified electrode. The application of the nano-silver coated multi-walled carbon nanotube composites modified electrode for determination of trace thiocyanate is demonstrated for the first time. The influence of substrate, pH and interference of coexisting substances was investigated for response properties of the electrode. There was a linear relationship at the range 2.5 x 10(-9) to 5 x 10(-8) mol L(-1) and 5 x 10(-8) to 1 x 10(-6) mol L(-1) of thiocyanate with the decrement of anodic DPV peak currents. The limit of detection was 1 x 10(-9) mol L(-1)(S/N=3). The constructed electrode showed excellent reproducibility and stability. Actual urine and saliva samples of smoker and non-smoker were analyzed and satisfactory results were obtained. This method provides a new way to construct any electrode for biological and environmental analysis.