Quantifying both ammonium and proline in wines and beer by using a PDMS composite for sensoring

Ionic-liquid doped polymeric composite as passive colorimetric sensor for meat freshness as a use case

A composite membrane containing 1,2-naphthoquinone-4-sulfonic acid sodium salt (NQS) embedded in an ionic liquid (IL)- polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)- tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS)- SiO₂ nanoparticles (NPs) polymeric matrix is proposed. The selected IL was 1-methyl-3-octylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate (OMIM PF6). It is demonstrated that ILs chemical additives of PDMS influenced the sol-gel porosity. The sensor analytical performance for ammonia atmospheres has been tested as a function of sampling time (between 0.5 and 312 h), temperature (25 °C and 4 °C) and sampling volume (between 2L and 22 mL) by means of diffuse reflectance measurements and sensor photos, which can be registered and saved as images by a smartphone, which permit RGB measurements too. Flexible calibration was possible, adapting it to the sampling time, temperature and sampling volume needed for its application. Calibration linear slopes (mA vs ppmv) between 1.7 and 467 ppmv^-1 were obtained for ammonia in function of the several studied conditions. Those slopes were between 48 and 91% higher than those achieved with sensors without ILs. The practical application of this sensing device was demonstrated for the analysis of meat packaging environments, being a potential cost-effective candidate for in situ meat freshness analysis. NQS provided selectivity in reference to other family compounds emitted from meat products, such as sulphides. After 10 days at 4 °C ammonia liberated by the assayed meat was 20 ± 4 μg/kg and 18 ± 3 μg/kg, quantified by using diffuse reflectance and %R measurements, respectively. Homogeneity of the ammonia atmosphere was tested by using two sensors placed in two different positions inside the packages.

Rapid evaluation of ammonium in different rain events minimizing needed volume by a cost-effective and sustainable PDMS supported solid sensor

The presence of ammonium ion in rainwater is due to atmospheric processes which involve its scavenging from gas phase and particulate matter. The fractionated samplings of rainwater can provide information about these processes and their potential sources. However, only a low sample volume may be available, which constrained the analysis in general and more particularly in situ mode. For minimizing this limitation, this work proposes a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-salicylate sensor that produces a color change. The embedding of solid reagents into PDMS was optimized. Good analytical characteristics (analysis time of 10 min, sample volume of 500 μL, limit of detection 0.03 μgmL^-1) were obtained. Furthermore, other features of the method such as carbon footprint, equipment cost, residues, toxicity and safety have to be taken into account to be assessed according to the Green Analytical Chemistry approach. In this sense, the hexagon tool was employed for comparing the proposed sensor with methods based on the same reaction as well as with general methods for the ammonium analysis in water (using luminol, ion selective electrode, Nessler and modified Roth method). The proposed method based on PDMS-salicylate sensor stands out from all the others by its sustainability, particularly, in terms of low carbon footprint, residues and cost. The method was applied to fractionated samplings in a suburban site (Galicia, Northwestern Spain) and a higher contribution of the rainout process was observed. When long-duration rain events were analyzed, a relationship between the sampling time and ammonium concentration could indicate a loss of ammonium ion over time. The research focuses on developing an innovative PDMS-sensor, for monitoring ammonium determination in rainwater under wide conditions (scavenging process).

Combined liquid phase microextraction and fiber-optics-based cuvetteless micro-spectrophotometry for sensitive determination of ammonia in water and food samples by the indophenol reaction

The Berthelot reaction for ammonia is revisited with the aim of miniaturization and addressing interferences as encountered with food and water samples. Headspace single drop microextraction of ammonia in phosphoric acid served to attain selectivity in complex matrices, and liquid-liquid microextraction of red or blue indophenol species into 1-octanol-isooctane (60:40, v/v) resulted into high sensitivity. Fiber-optics-based cuvetteless micro-spectrophotometry has been used for colorimetric determination on microliter volumes of extract. The linear dynamic range, limit of detection and enrichment factor have been found to be 0.2-3 mg kg^-1, 0.14 mg kg^-1 and 38, respectively, measuring red species for milk, cheese and beer (4.9-5.5% error; 4.8-6.3% RSD; n = 5); and 5-400 µg L^-1, 0.4 µg L^-1 and 137, respectively, measuring blue species for water samples (3.3-5.7% error; 3.6-6.8% RSD; n = 5). A plausible reaction scheme has been proposed for nitroprusside catalysis in indophenol reaction.