A simple and green analytical method for determination of iron based on micro flow analysis

Microflow injection analysis based on modular 3D platforms and colorimetric detection for Fe(III) monitoring in a wide concentration range

A modular microflow injection analysis (microFIA) system for the determination of Fe(III) in a bioleaching reactor has been designed, developed and validated. The different modules of the analyzer (mixer, diluter, disperser and detector) were 3D-printed. Fe(III) quantification is due by measuring the color intensity of the chelate formed between Fe(III) and salicylic acid at 525 nm. The device has been designed to dilute, disperse and detect high Fe(III) concentrations in the form of an inexpensive multi-step photometric flow cell that uses an light-emitting diode (LED) as a light source and an light-dependent resistor (LDR) as a light intensity detector. This microFIA system has been shown to be suitable for automatic and continuous determination of Fe(III) in the operation of a bioreactor for the oxidation of Fe(II). The device has a good repeatability (less than 5% of coefficient of variation in the whole range of concentrations) and accuracy of around 100%. The analyzer features an exceptional wide linear range, between 25 and 6000 mg·L-1. The device was successfully applied to the determination of Fe(III) in real samples. The obtained results proved that the method is applicable for accurate, precise, rapid, and low-cost colorimetric analysis and didn't show significant differences with a conventional UV-Vis method.

An Environmentally Friendly Compact Microfluidic Hydrodynamic Sequential Injection System Using Curcuma putii Maknoi & Jenjitt. Extract as a Natural Reagent for Colorimetric Determination of Total Iron in Water Samples

The miniaturization of analytical systems and the utilization of nontoxic natural extract from plants play significant roles for green analytical chemistry methodology. In this work, the microfluidic hydrodynamic sequential injection (HSI) with the LED-phototransistor colorimetric detection system has been proposed to create an ecofriendly and low-cost miniaturized analytical system for online determination of iron in water samples using Curcuma putii Maknoi & Jenjitt. extracts as high stability and good selectivity of a natural reagent. The proposed method was designed for online solution mixing and colorimetric detection on a microfluidic platform. The Curcuma putii Maknoi & Jenjitt. extracts and standard/samples were sequentially aspirated to fill the channel before entering the built-in flow cell. The intensity of iron-Curcuma putii Maknoi & Jenjitt. extract complex was monitored under the optimum conditions of flow rate, sample volume, mixing zone length, and aspiration sequences, by altering the gain control of the colorimetric detector to achieve good sensitivity. The results demonstrated a good performance of the green analytical systems. A linear calibration graph in the range of 0.5-6.0 mg L^-1 was obtained with a limit of detection at an adequate level of 0.11 mg L^-1 for water samples with a sample throughput of 30 h^-1. The precise and accurate measurement results were achieved with relative standard deviations in the range of 1.61-1.72%, and percent recoveries were found in the range of 90.6-113.4. The proposed method offers cost-effective, easy operation over an appropriate analysis time (2 min/injection) with good sensitivity and is environmentally friendly with low consumption of solutions and the use of high stability and good selectivity of nontoxic reagents. The achieved method was demonstrated to be a good choice for routine analysis.

Method for quantification of antioxidant capacity of processed fruit juices exploring the formation of the Fe(II)/3-hydroxy-4-nitroso-2,7-naphthalenedisulfonic complex

The formation of the Fe(NRS)34− complex was used in a modified spectrophotometric method to quantify the total antioxidant capacity (TAC) of processed fruit juice samples. The procedure is based on the reduction of Fe(III) to Fe(II) in aqueous buffered solution (Tris; pH 8.0) containing the 3-hydroxy-4-nitroso-2,7-naphthalenedisulfonic acid (H2NRS). The absorbance values at 730 nm (A730 nm) of the Fe(NRS)34− complex obtained with juice samples were compared with A730 nm values obtained with a standard ascorbic acid solution and then subsequently used to quantify and express the TAC of the samples. Good positive relationship between TAC values in the analysed samples (grape, orange, passion fruit, cashew, peach, and strawberry) was found for both the Fe(NRS)34− complex method (proposed method) and ABTS•+ radical-free method (used as reference method). The TAC values obtained with Fe(NRS)34− and ABTS•+ also showed a positive correlation with the Folin–Ciocalteu index values. Fructose, glucose, BHT, and BHA did not interfere in the TAC quantification of the processed fruit juice samples with the proposed method. However, ascorbic acid (natural or added as additive, E300) and its derivatives (E301, E302, E303, E315, and E316) did interfere positively. As a 10-fold dilution is required and the absorbance measurements are performed at 730 nm, the proposed method was not subject to colour interference from the tested samples. The procedure suggested here is simple, easy to perform, reproducible, does not use organic solvents, and does not need expensive equipment.

Multi-reverse flow injection analysis integrated with multi-optical sensor for simultaneous determination of Mn(II), Fe(II), Cu(II) and Fe(III) in natural waters

Multi-reverse flow injection analysis (Mr-FIA) integrated with multi-optical sensor was developed and optimized for the simultaneous determination of multi ions; Mn(II), Fe(II), Cu(II) and Fe(III) in water samples. The sample/standard solutions were propelled making use of a four channels peristaltic pump whereas 4 colorimetric reagents specific for the metal ions were separately injected in sample streams using multi-syringe pump. The color zones that formed in the individual mixing coils were then streamed into multi-channels spectrometer, which comprised of four flows through cell and four pairs of light emitting diode and photodiode, whereby signals were measured concurrently. The linearity range (along with detection limit, µgL^-1) was 0.050-3.0(16), 0.30-2.0 (11), 0.050-1.0(12) and 0.10-1.0(50)mgL^-1, for Mn(II), Fe(II), Cu(II) and Fe(III), respectively. In the interim, the correlation coefficients were 0.9924-0.9942. The percentages relative standard deviation was less than 3. The proposed system was applied successfully to determine targeted metal ions simultaneously in natural water with high sample throughput and low reagent consumption, thus it satisfies the criteria of Green Analytical Chemistry (GAC) and its goals.

Miniaturization of spectrophotometry based on micro flow analysis using norfloxacin as less-toxic reagent for iron determination

A micro flow analysis (μFA) system has been designed and fabricated for determination of total iron. The system consists of a microchannels fabricated by etching the polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) by using laser ablation techniques and a sealed polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) as top plate. The PMMA micro-flow was topped with a home-made polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) micro-flow through cell, which was integrated with light emitting diode (LED) as light source and a USB 2000 spectrometer as detector. The proposed μFA system was applied to determination of Fe(III) using norfloxacin as a less-toxic complexing agent in an acetate buffer solution pH 4.0, resulting in a yellow colored complex which gave the maximum absorption at 430nm. Under the optimum conditions, a linear calibration graph was obtained in the concentration range of 0.20-5.00mgL(-1). The limit of detection (LOD, defined as 3σ) and limit of quantification (LOQ, defined as 10σ) were 0.12 and 0.45mgL(-1), respectively. The relative standard deviation (R.S.D.) for repeatability and reproducibility were less than 1.50% and 1.24% (n=11) for 0.2mgL(-1) and 1.0mgL(-1) Fe(III), respectively. The proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of total iron in water samples, validated by the FAAS standard method after digestion by HNO3 and H2O2.

Deferiprone, a non-toxic reagent for determination of iron in samples via sequential injection analysis

We present for the first time the use of deferiprone as a non-toxic complexing agent for the determination of iron by sequential injection analysis in pharmaceuticals and food samples. The method was based on the reaction of Fe(III) and deferiprone in phosphate buffer at pH 7.5 to give a Fe(III)-deferiprone complex, which showed a maximum absorption at 460nm. Under the optimum conditions, the linearity range for iron determination was found over the range of 0.05-3.0μgmL(-1) with a correlation coefficient (r(2)) of 0.9993. The limit of detection and limit of quantitation were 0.032μgmL(-1) and 0.055μgmL(-1), respectively. The relative standard deviation (%RSD) of the method was less than 5.0% (n=11), and the percentage recovery was found in the range of 96.0-104.0%. The proposed method was satisfactorily applied for the determination of Fe(III) in pharmaceuticals, water and food samples with a sampling rate of 60h(-1).

A critical study of use of the Fe(II)/3-hydroxy-4-nitroso-2,7-naphthalenedisulfonic acid complexes in the quantification of polyphenols in medicinal plants

A critical study of the use of the Fe(III)/3-hydroxy-4-nitroso-2,7-naphthalenedisulfonic acid (NRS) complexes on the quantification of the polyphenols content in aqueous extracts of plants, expressed as pyrogallic acid, [PA], is presented. The reaction used is based on the reduction of Fe(III) to Fe(II) by [PA] in the presence of NRS in a buffered medium (Tris; pH 8.0) with formation of Fe(II)/NRS complexes. A calibration curve of absorbance (at 730 nm) vs. [PA] is linear (r=0.998; n=7) from 1.0 to 7.0 μmolL(-1) [PA]. LD and RSD were 0.5 μmolL(-1) and 2.5% (6.0 μmolL(-1) [PA], n=10), respectively. The influence of pH, type of buffer solution and interfering species possibly present in the samples were evaluated. Aqueous extracts of twelve medicinal plants used in the Brazilian folk medicine were analysed by using both Fe(III)/NRS complexes and the Folin-Ciocalteu reagent.

A microfluidic device with integrated fluorimetric detection for flow injection analysis

This work describes the development of flow analysis microsystems with integrated fluorimetric detection cells. Channels (width of 300-540 microm and depth of 200-590 microm) were manufactured by deep-UV lithography in urethane-acrylate (UA) resin. Plastic optical fibers (diameter of 250 microm) were coupled to a 2.0-mm-long detection channel in order to guide the excitation radiation from an LED (470 nm) and collect the emitted radiation at a right angle towards a photomultiplier. A single-line miniaturized system, with a total internal volume of 10.4 microL, was evaluated by means of standard fluorescein solutions (0.53-2.66 micromol L(-1), pH 8.5). The analytical signals presented a linear relationship in the concentration range studied, with a relative standard deviation of 1.9% (n = 5), providing a detection limit of 0.37 micromol L(-1) and an analytical frequency of 60 samples/h, using a flow rate of 60 microL min(-1). Optical microscopy images and videos acquired in real time for the hydrodynamic injection of 130 and 320 nL of sample solutions indicated the good performance of the proposed sampling strategy. Another microsystem with a total internal volume of 38 microL was developed, incorporating a confluence point for two solutions. This device was applied to the determination of the total concentration of Ca(2+) and Mg(2+) in commercial mineral waters using the calcein method. Microscopy images and videos demonstrated the mixing efficiency of the solutions in the microchannels. A linear relationship was observed for the analytical signal in the Ca(2+) concentration range from 25 to 125 micromol L(-1), with relative standard deviations of 3.5%. The analysis of mineral waters with the proposed system provided results that did not differ significantly from those obtained by the EDTA titration method at a confidence level of 95%. These results demonstrate the viability of developing micro flow injection systems with an integrated fluorimetric detection cell.

A cleaner and simple spectrophotometric micro-fluidic procedure for copper determination using nitroso-R salt as chromogenic agent

A cleaner and simple spectrophotometric method using microflow analysis (muFA) was performed. It consisted of a T-junction with microcoil on a polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) chip which was fabricated by laser ablation and a molded polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) as top plate. The fabricated PMMA chip was integrated with light emitting diode (LED) as light source and spectrometer as detector. The proposed device was applied to determining copper in water samples using nitroso-R salt as chromogenic reagent at 495 nm. It was found that the proposed muFA system was with less reagents and samples consumption with tiny waste generation. The relative standard deviation (R.S.D.) was less than 2% (n=11) with the percentage recovery of 98.0+/-1.7% (n=7). The linear range for determination of copper in water samples was over the range of 0.05-3.0 microg mL(-1) with a correlation coefficient (r2) of 0.999. The limit of detection (3sigma) was 47 ng mL(-1) with a sample throughput of 30 h(-1).

Biosorption of aluminum on Pseudomonas aeruginosa loaded on Chromosorb 106 prior to its graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometric determination

A biosorption procedure for separation-enrichment of aluminum in environmental samples has been presented in this work. Pseudomonas aeruginosa loaded on Chromosorb 106 has been used as biosorbent for that purpose. P. aeruginosa is a gram-negative, aerobic rod. The influences of pH of the aqueous solution, eluent type, eluent volume, sample volume, etc. were examined on the quantitative recovery of aluminum in P. aeruginosa loaded on Chromosorb 106. The effects of concomitant ions on the recoveries of aluminum were also investigated. The detection limit based on 3 sigma for aluminum is 30 ng L(-1). Three certified reference materials (LGC 6010 Hard Drinking Water, NIST-SRM 1568a Rice Flour and NRCC-DORM-2 Dogfish Muscle) were analyzed for the validation of the presented procedure. The proposed procedure was applied to the determination of aluminum in environmental samples including natural water and food samples. The concentration of aluminum in real samples was found at ppb level.