Non-transferrin-bound iron determination in blood serum using microsequential injection solid phase spectrometry- proof of concept.

Non-transferrin-bound iron (NTBI) is a group of circulating toxic iron forms, which occur in iron overload or health conditions with dysregulation of iron metabolism. NTBI is responsible for increased oxidative stress and tissue iron loading. Despite its relevance as a biochemical marker in several diseases, a standardized assay is still lacking. Several methods were developed to quantify NTBI, but results show high inter-method and even inter-laboratory variability. Thus, the development of a consistent NTBI assay is a major goal in the management of iron overload and related clinical conditions. In this work, a micro sequential injection lab-on-valve (µSI-LOV) method in a solid phase spectrophotometry (SPS) mode was developed for the quantification of NTBI, using a bidentate 3,4-hydroxypyridinone (3,4-HPO) ligand anchored to sepharose beads as a chromogenic reagent. To attain SPS, the functionalized beads were packed into a column in the flow cell, and the analyte, NTBI retained as iron (III), formed a colored complex at the beads while eliminating the sample matrix. The dynamic concentration range was 1.62-7.16 µmol L-1 of iron (III), with a limit of detection of 0.49 µmol L-1 and a limit of quantification of 1.62 µmol L-1. The proposed µSI-LOV-SPS method is a contribution to the development of an automatic method for the quantification of the NTBI in serum samples.

A Robust Flow-Based System for the Spectrophotometric Determination of Cr(VI) in Recreational Waters.

A flow-based method for the spectrophotometric determination of chromium (VI) in recreational waters with different salinities was developed. Chromium can occur in the environment in different oxidation states with different related physiological properties. With regard to chromium, the speciation is particularly important, as the hexavalent chromium is considered to be carcinogenic. To achieve that purpose, the use of the diphenylcarbazide (DPC) selective colored reaction with the hexavalent chromium was the chosen strategy. The main objective was to develop a direct and simple spectrophotometric method that could cope with the analysis of different types of environmental waters, within different salinity ranges (fresh to marine waters). The potential interference of metal ions, that can usually be present in environmental waters, was assessed and no significant interferences were observed (<10%). For a complete Cr(VI) determination (three replicas) cycle, the corresponding reagents consumption was 75 µg of DPC, 9 mg of ethanol and 54 mg of sulfuric acid. Each cycle takes about 5 min, including the system clean-up. The limit of detection was 6.9 and 12.2 µg L−1 for waters with low and high salt content, respectively. The method was applied for the quantification of chromium (VI) in both fresh and marine water, and the results were in agreement with the reference procedure.

Chip-Based Spectrofluorimetric Determination of Iodine in a Multi-Syringe Flow Platform with and without In-Line Digestion-Application to Salt, Pharmaceuticals, and Algae Samples.

In this work, a flow-based spectrofluorimetric method for iodine determination was developed. The system consisted of a miniaturized chip-based flow manifold for solutions handling and with integrated spectrofluorimetric detection. A multi-syringe module was used as a liquid driver. Iodide was quantified from its catalytic effect on the redox reaction between Ce(IV) and As(III), based on the Sandell-Kolthoff reaction. The method was applied for the determination of iodine in salt, pharmaceuticals, supplement pills, and seaweed samples without off-line pre-treatment. An in-line oxidation process, aided by UV radiation, was implemented to analyse some samples (supplement pills and seaweed samples) to eliminate interferences and release iodine from organo-iodine compounds. This feature, combined with the fluorometric reaction, makes this method simpler, faster, and more sensitive than the classic approach of the Sandell-Kolthoff reaction. The method allowed iodine to be determined within a range of 0.20-4.0 µmol L-1, with or without the in-line UV digestion, with a limit of detection of 0.028 µmol L-1 and 0.025 µmol L-1, respectively.

Determination of iron(III) in water samples by microsequential injection solid phase spectrometry using an hexadentate 3-hydroxy-4-pyridinone chelator as reagent.

In this work, the hexadentate 3,4-hydroxypyridinone ligand was used as reagent for the spectrophotometric quantification of iron(III) in fresh and sea waters, using a micro sequential injection lab-on-valve (µSI-LOV) system in a solid phase spectrometry (SPS) mode. To implement SPS, thus eliminating the sample matrix, a packed column in the flow cell was used; the chosen sorbent was Nitrilotriacetic Acid Superflow resin (NTA). The possibility of performing an analytical curve resorting to just one standard was also demonstrated. The consumption of the hexadentante ligand was about 30 µg per determination and the effluent production lower than 2.5 mL. The dynamic concentration range was 0.45-9.0 µmol L-1, with a limit of detection of 0.13 µmol L-1 and limit of quantification 0.43 µmol L-1. The proposed µSI-LOV-SPS methodology was successfully applied to river, ground, estuarine, tap, and sea waters.

Iron speciation in natural waters by sequential injection analysis with a hexadentate 3-hydroxy-4-pyridinone chelator as chromogenic agent.

A sequential injection method for iron speciation in various types of natural waters was developed using a synthesised hexadentate 3-hydroxy-4-pyridinone chelator (CP256). The denticity of the ligand that allow formation of the corresponding iron(III) complex in a 1:1 stoichiometry proved to be highly advantageous, in comparison with parent bidentate, hydroxy-4-piridinone chelators, with a two fold increase of reaction sensitivity and over 65% decrease of the LOD. A solid phase extraction approach was employed to attain matrix elimination, facilitating iron(III) determination and application to high salinity waters. The combination with the total iron determination obtained by the direct reaction of the ligand resulted in iron speciation. Two detection spectrophotometric cells were tested, a conventional flow cell (CFC) and a liquid waveguide capillary cell (LWCC). The dynamic concentration ranges were 0.1-2 mg/L with the CFC detection and 0.005-0.1 mg/L with the LWCC, with limit of detection of 30 µg/L and 6 µg/L, respectively. The developed method was successfully applied to a variety of natural waters.