Bombardier beetle based biosensor.

A biosensor constructed by combining an oxygen electrode with the liquid ejected by bombardier beetles (Pheropsophus aequinoctialis) immobolized on a collagen membrane is developed for hydrogen peroxide. The sensor presents a linear range of 2.0 x 10(-4)-2.0 x 10(-3) M and a reproductibility of approximately 2%. It shows a better lifetime than similar ones employing purified catalase. The selectivity is good since other enzymes are not present in the natural source employed.

Determination of insoluble azides by thermometric titrimetry.

A method for determination of azide, based on the thermometric titration of this anion with hydrochloric acid, is described. Although this reaction has a large enthalpy change (DeltaH = -3.6 kcal/ mole), sulphate is added as an endothermic thermometric indicator to improve the end-point. The application of the method to the analysis of insoluble azides has been studied.

Investigation of the use of thermometric titrimetry for the determination of acidic substances in wine.

The use of thermometric titrimetry in the determination of acidic substances in red wine is described. The titration curve obtained in the thermometric titration of red wine with strong base presents two inflections. The stoichiometry corresponding to the first inflection presents good agreement with the so-called "total acidity" of wine, and is proposed for its determination. The second inflection is related to the content of phenolic substances in red wine.

Determination of lead(II) by argentimetry.

A titrimetric method for determination of lead(II), based on the reaction between plumbite and silver ions, is described. Sodium hydroxide solution is added to the sample until the precipitate of lead hydroxide has redissolved. The solution is then made 0.025M in sodium chloride and titrated with silver nitrate. The titration is monitored with a silver electrode. An error smaller than 0.5% has been obtained for 0.05M lead (II).

Flow-injection spectrophotometric determination of paraoxon by its inhibitory effect on the enzyme acetylcholinesterase.

A spectrophotometric enzymatic flow injection (FI) system for the determination of diethyl-p-nitrophenylphosphate (paraoxon) is proposed. The method was based on the determination of the acetic acid formed by the enzymatic reaction of the acetylcholinesterase, immobilized on glass beads, with the substrate acetylcholine. The acetic acid formed permeates through a PTFE membrane and is received by a solution (pH 7.0) containing the acid-base indicator Bromocresol Purple (B.C.P.), leading to a pH change and therefore to a color change. The variation of the absorbance of the solution is detected spectrophotometrically at 400 nm. The determination of paraoxon is related to its inhibitory action on the enzyme. Therefore the analytical signal is the difference between the signal that corresponds to the free and the one that corresponds to the inhibited enzyme, considering a fixed acetylcholine concentration. The correlation between the peak height and paraoxon concentration at a given acetylcholine concentration is linear in the range from 5.0 x 10(-7) mol L-1 to 5.0 x 10(-5) mol L-1 (r = 0.998) of paraoxon, with a relative estimated standard deviation (R.S.D.) of +/- 1.7% (n = 10) considering a solution containing 5.0 x 10(-6) mol L-1 of paraoxon and a solution containing 5.0 x 10(-3) mol L-1 of acetylcholine. Therefore, the quantitative limit detection is about 2.5 x 10(-7) of paraoxon (3 sigma). A 1,1'-trimethylene-bis(4-formylpyridinium bromide)dioxime (TMB-4) solution was used to reactivate the enzyme.