Jean Pettersson

Determination of total selenium in water by atomic-absorption spectrometry after hydride generation and preconcentration in a cold trap system

A cold trap system for the determination of selenium by hydride generation-atomic absorption spectrometry (HG-AAS) is described. For a 30-ml sample the limit of detection is <2 ng/l. and the precision is better than 4% at the 30 ng/l. level. A number of digestion procedures for the destruction of organic matter prior to the determination of total dissolved selenium in water has been tested and compared. Concordant results were obtained except for oxidation by peroxodisulphate in strongly acidic solutions with a high content of organic material. The selenium concentrations found were in agreement with those obtained by HG-AAS after preconcentration by evaporation and dry ashing with the magnesium nitrate-nitric acid-hydrochloric acid method.

The rate of reduction of selenium(VI) to selenium(IV) in hydrochloric acid.

The reduction of selenium(VI) to selenium(IV) in 4, 5 and 6M hydrochloric acid was studied at temperatures between 50 and 95 degrees . The reaction rate was determined by measurement of the selenium(IV) formed, by continuous-flow hydride-generation atomic-absorption spectrometry. The most notable feature of the reaction is the strong increase in rate with increasing hydrogen-ion concentration and temperature. The rate increases initially with chloride concentration at constant acidity (mixtures of hydrochloric and perchloric acid) but levels off to an almost constant value at high chloride concentrations.

Comparison of four digestion methods for the determination of selenium in bovine liver by hydride generation and atomic-absorption spectrometry in a flow system

A flow system for hydride generation and atomic-absorption spectrometry is described, and the results from the optimization of the equipment for selenium determination are reported. For a sample volume of 0.6 ml the limit of detection for selenium was 0.1 mug l . and the imprecision less than 1% RSD at the 10-mug l . level. Four digestion procedures for selenium in bovine liver have been tested. All procedures gave concordant results, provided that the standard-additions method was used. The accuracies of the overall analytical procedures were estimated by comparison with results from neutron-activation analysis and analysis of NBS Bovine Liver, No. 1577. These comparisons proved that the accuracies of the procedures described in this paper are good.

The use of inorganic elemental standards in the quantification of proteins and biomolecular compounds by inductively coupled plasma spectrometry

An inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometer (ICP-AES) and an ICP-time-of-flight mass spectrometer (ICP-TOF-MS) have been investigated in terms of their generic behaviour, i.e. if their responses can be considered as structure independent or not in the simple matrices prevailing during, e.g., a liquid chromatographic (LC) run. The signal in ICP-AES and ICP-TOF-MS given by elements bound or associated to intact bovine serum albumin and cyanocobalamin was compared with the signal obtained from inorganic reference material solutions. The sample and standard solutions were directly aspirated into the nebuliser or run through flow injection analysis (FIA) or LC before the ICP spectrometers. The total concentrations of sulfur and cobalt were determined from ICP determinations of nitric acid digests of the two compounds. The quantification was based on external calibration by simple linear regression without internal standard correction. As long as the molecule concentration is sufficiently low, the matrix interference from the surrounding molecule is almost negligible and inorganic elemental standards can be used for quantification with an accuracy of 10% or better. The LC-ICP measurements generally resulted in less accurate concentrations than the corresponding measurements with direct aspiration and FIA, probably due to the inherent susceptibility of separation techniques to drift in the signal level over time. The ICP-TOF-MS could not handle as high absolute concentrations of organometallic or macromolecular compounds as could the ICP-AES, without showing a significant interference from the matrix for some of the measured elements.

Electrochemical solid-phase microextraction of anions and cations using polypyrrole coatings and an integrated three-electrode device

A method for the extraction, transfer and desorption of anions and cations under controlled potential conditions employing a new integrated three-electrode device is described. The device, containing working, reference and counter electrodes, was prepared from tubes that could be moved vertically with respect to each other. In this way, a small amount of solvent, held by capillary force, remained between the electrodes when the device was lifted out of a solution after an extraction. This design allowed the potential control to be maintained at all times. With the new integrated device, it was possible to perform potential controlled desorption into vials containing as little as 200 microl of solution. The required ion exchange capacity was obtained by electrodeposition of a polypyrrole coating on the surface of the glassy carbon working electrode. Solid-phase microextractions of several cations or anions were performed simultaneously under potentiostatic control by doping the polypyrrole coating with different anions such as perchlorate and p-toluenesulfonate. The efficiency of the extractions, which could be altered by varying the potential of the working electrode, could be increased by 150 to 200% compared to extractions using normal solid-phase microextraction conditions under open circuit conditions. A constant potential of +1.0 V and -0.5 V with respect to the silver pseudo reference electrode, was found to be well-suited for the extraction of samples containing ppm concentrations of anions (chloride, nitrite, bromide, nitrate, sulfate and phosphate) and cations (cadmium, cobalt and zinc), respectively.

Lithium trapping in alloy forming electrodes and current collectors for lithium based batteries

Significant capacity losses are generally seen for batteries containing high-capacity lithium alloy forming anode materials such as silicon, tin and aluminium. These losses are generally ascribed to a combination of volume expansion effects and irreversible electrolyte reduction reactions. Here, it is shown, based on e.g. elemental analyses of cycled electrodes, that the capacity losses for tin nanorod and silicon composite electrodes in fact involve diffusion controlled trapping of lithium in the electrodes. While an analogous effect is also demonstrated for copper, nickel and titanium current collectors, boron-doped diamond is shown to function as an effective lithium diffusion barrier. The present findings indicate that the durability of lithium based batteries can be improved significantly via proper electrode design or regeneration of the used electrodes.

Speciation of Inositol Phosphates in Lake Sediments by Ion-Exchange Chromatography Coupled with Mass Spectrometry, Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy, and 31P NMR Spectroscopy

A method for the detection and speciation of inositol phosphates (InsP(n)) in sediment samples was tested, utilizing oxalate-oxalic acid extraction followed by determination by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) using electrospray ionization (ESI) in negative mode. The chromatographic separation was carried out using water and ammonium bicarbonate as mobile phase in gradient mode. Data acquisition under MS/MS was attained by multiple reaction monitoring. The technique provided a sensitive and selective detection of InsP(n) in sediment samples. Several forms of InsP(n) in the oxalate-oxalic acid extracted sediment were identified. InsP6 was the dominating form constituting 0.250 mg P/g DW (dry weight); InsP5 and InsP4 constituted 0.045 and 0.014 mg P/g DW, respectively. The detection limit of the LC-ESI-MS/MS method was 0.03 μM InsP(n), which is superior to the currently used method for the identification of InsP(n), (31)P nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy ((31)P NMR). Additionally sample handling time was significantly reduced.

New carborane-based compounds for boron neutron capture therapy: binding and toxicity of ANC-1, DAC-1 and B-Et-11-OMe in cultured human glioma and mouse melanoma cells.

The toxicity and binding of the three new carborane based compounds: 2 (1,2-dicarba-closo-dodecaborane (12)-1(-yl-methoxy)-2-(3-amino-propyl))-1,3-propanediol, called DAC-1; 7-(3-amino-propyl)-7,8-dicarba-nido-undecarborate (-1) called ANC-1; and rac-1-(9-o-carboranyl)-nonyl-2-methyl-glycero-3- phosphocholine, called B-Et-11-OMe, were analyzed with cultured human glioma cells, U-343MGa, and mouse melanoma cells, B16, as biological models. The previously developed compound di-sodium undecahydro-mercapto-closo-dodecarborate (BSH), which is tested for therapy of malignant gliomas, was analyzed for comparison. In the toxicity tests the cells were exposed to the substances at cell culture medium concentrations in the range 0-50 ppm boron for 1 or 20 h and thereafter analyzed regarding growth. Growth-disturbing effects were seen for the two compounds DAC-1 and B-Et-11-OMe at the concentrations corresponding to 15 and 50 ppm boron, respectively. The compounds ANC-1 and BSH showed no growth-disturbing effects at the tested concentrations. In the binding tests, the cells were incubated for 20 h at about the highest compound concentrations that did not cause growth disturbances. The boron content in the cells was then determined by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) and in some cases ICP-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The most extensive binding was seen for DAC-1 and B-Et-11-OMe, which accumulated boron to about 100 and 60 times, respectively, compared with the concentration in the culture medium. The compound ANC-1 also accumulated boron in the cells but the boron could be easily washed out indicating no or only a weak binding. BSH did not accumulate. Further analysis should be made regarding biological properties such as intracellular compartmentalization, metabolic interference and tumor specificity of the compounds DAC-1 and B-Et-11-OMe.

Interference from iodide in the determination of trace level selenium

The rate of the reaction between iodide and selenium(IV) at trace levels to form selenium and iodine has been determined in 1-6M hydrochloric acid. The reaction rate increases rapidly with acidity. When hydrochloric acid is added to reduce selenate to selenite prior to the determination of total selenium, some selenium may be lost by reduction to the element if iodide is present. A table of half-lives of the selenite-iodide reaction under various conditions is presented. A method for removal of iodide is suggested.

In vitro determination of toxicity, binding, retention, subcellular distribution and biological efficacy of the boron neutron capture agent DAC-1

In boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT), 10B is delivered selectively to the tumour cells and the nuclide then forms high-LET radiation (4He2+ and 7Li3+) upon neutron capture. Today much research is focused on development of a variety of boron compounds aimed for BNCT. The compounds must be thoroughly analysed in preclinical tests regarding basic characteristics such as binding and subcellular distribution to enable accurate estimations of dose-modifying factors. DAC-1,2-[2-(3-amino-propyl)-1,2-dicarba-closo-dodecaboran (12)-1-yl-methoxy]- 1,3-propanediol was synthesized at our laboratories and the human colon carcinoma cells LS-174T were used as an in vitro model. The boron compound showed a remarkable intracellular accumulation, 20-100 times higher than the boron content in the culture medium, in cultured cells and was not removed by extensive washes. Approximately half of the boron taken up also remained within the cells for at least 4 days. The DAC-1 compound alone was not toxic at boron concentrations below 2.5 micrograms B/g. The intracellular distribution of the boron compound was investigated by subcellular fractionation experiments and low pH treatments. It is possible that DAC-1 binds to some intracellular molecules or to membranes connected with organelles in the cytoplasm or even to the inside of the outer cell membrane. Another possibility is that the compound, due to the somewhat lipophilic properties, is embedded in the membranes. Thermal neutron irradiations were carried out at the Brookhaven Medical Research Reactor (BMRR). At a survival level of 0.1, DAC-1 + thermal neutrons were about 10.5 times more effective in cell inactivation than the thermal neutrons alone. Monte Carlo calculations gave a mean value of the 10B-dependent specific energy, the dose, of 0.22 Gy. The total physical dose during irradiation of DAC-1-containing cells with a neutron fluence of 0.18 x 10(12) n/cm2 was 0.39 Gy. The dose-modifying factor, at survival level 0.1, when comparing irradiation with thermal neutrons with and without DAC-1 was 3.4, while the dose-modifying factor when comparing neutron irradiations of cells with DAC-1 and irradiation of the cells with 60Co-gamma was 7.3. The results are encouraging and in vivo tests of tissue distributions and tumour uptake should now be carried out.