Olivera Galović

Determination of cationic surfactants in pharmaceutical disinfectants using a new sensitive potentiometric sensor.

A new sensitive potentiometric surfactant sensor was prepared based on a highly lipophilic 1,3-didecyl-2-methyl-imidazolium cation and a tetraphenylborate antagonist ion. This sensor was used as a sensing material and incorporated into the plasticized PVC-membrane. The sensor responded fast and showed a Nernstian response for investigated surfactant cations: cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC), hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and Hyamine with slope 59.8, 58.6 and 56.8 mV/decade, respectively. The sensor served as an end-point detector in ion-pair surfactant potentiometric titrations using sodium tetraphenylborate as titrant. Several technical grade cationic surfactants and a few commercial disinfectant products were also titrated, and the results were compared with those obtained from a two-phase standard titration method. The sensor showed satisfactory analytical performances within a pH range of 2-11, and exhibited excellent selectivity performance for CPC compared to all of the organic and inorganic cations investigated. The influence of the nonionic surfactants on the shape of titration curves was negligible if the mass ratio of ethoxylated nonionic surfactants and cationic surfactants (EONS:CS) was not greater than 5.

Determination of anti-oxidative histidine dipeptides in poultry by microchip capillary electrophoresis with contactless conductivity detection

A home-made microchip electrophoresis (MCE) device was used to quantitate two biologically important histidine dipeptides, carnosine and anserine, using capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection (C4D), at pH 2.7. The C4D detector exhibited a linear response to both carnosine and anserine in the range of 0-200μM for the individual dipeptides and in the range of 0-100μM for each dipeptide when both were present as a mixture. The limit of detections (LOD) for the dipeptides in the mixture were 0.10μM for carnosine and 0.16μM for anserine. Standard addition was used to detemine the accuracy of the method. For carnosine and anserine the recoveries were in the range of 96.7±4.9-106.0±7.5% and 95.3±4.5-105.0±5.1% in thigh muscle and 97.5±5.1-105.0±7.5% and 95.3±5.4-97.3±5.6% in breast muscle, respectively.

Application of a New Potentiometric Sensor for Determination of Anionic Surfactants in Wastewater

Surfactants (surface active agents) are substances which incorporate a hydrophobic non-polar and a hydrophilic polar group, and have the tendency to accumulate at the phase boundary. This feature causes the wide application of surfactants. In 2012, the world surfactant market amounted to 27,040 million USD, and with average annual increase of 6.18 %, this amount in 2017 is estimated at 36,518 million USD2. ASs are used as components in cosmetic formulations, household products, industrial cleaners. Their wide application leads to water pollution, and thus endangers the flora and fauna3. The standard method for the determination of anionic surfactants (ASs) in wastewater is MBAS4 (Methylene Blue Active Substances), while twophase titration5 is used for determining AS in commercial products. Both standard methods have many drawbacks (use of carcinogenic organic solvents, difficulties in determination of anionic surfactants in turbid solution, the subjectivity of the person performing the analysis, inability of auto mation...). The limitations of the standard methods for the determination of AS impose the need for continuous development of new surfactant sensors, which are less expensive, miniaturized, easier to use. The Environmental Protection Act of Croatia does not allow the use of surfactants whose biodegradability is less than 90 %6, thus, the determination of low concentrations of AS in effluents is of great importance. Today, there are a number of techniques that are able to detect, identify, and quantify the surfactant in samples of a complex matrix7. The first methods for determination of ASs were developed from simple volumetric methods5, followed by spectrophotometric methods8,9, chromatography10–12, microfluidic techniques such as flow-injection analysis (FIA)13, capillary electrophoresys14, attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR)15. The polymeric membrane ion-selective electrodes (ISEs)16–19 successfully replace standard methods for determination of ASs in various samples. ISEs are a simpler and cost-effective alternative to standard methods. ISEs have evolved from the coated-wire electrodes and liquid polymeric membrane electrodes containing ion-pair based sensing material. The widest use have found ISEs with PVC liquid membrane. Low concentrations of ASs can be determined by ISFET sensors20, biosensors21 or ISEs associated with FIA system. The aim of this study was the application of a newly developed screen-printed microsensor, based on dimethyldioctadecylammonium-tetraphenylborate (DDA-TPB) ion pair as a sensing material, for determination of ASs in industrial wastewater. Particular attention was paid to the determination of low concentrations of ASs. Application of a New Potentiometric Sensor for Determination of Anionic Surfactants in Wastewater

A novel, fast responding, low noise potentiometric sensor containing a carbon-based polymeric membrane for measuring surfactants in industrial and environmental applications

A new high-sensitivity potentiometric sensor for anionic surfactants was fabricated using the dimethyldioctadecylammonium-tetraphenylborate (DDA-TPB) ion associate as an ionophore that was incorporated into a liquid PVC membrane. Carbon powder was used for immobilization of the ionophore in the membrane, thus significantly reducing its ohmic resistance and reducing its signal drift. The sensor exhibits a sub-Nernstian response for both dodecylbenzenesulfonate (DBS) and dodecyl sulfate (DS) in H2O (55.3 and 58.5mV/decade of activity, respectively) in a range between 3.2×10-7 and 4.6×10-3M for DS and 2.5×10-7 and 1.2×10-3M for DBS. The sensor also exhibited a sub-Nernstian response for DS and DBS in 10mM Na2SO4 (55.4 and 57.7mV/decade of activity, respectively) between 2.5×10-7 and 4.6×10-3M for DS and 1.5×10-7 and 8.8×10-4M for DBS. The detection limits for DS and DBS in H2O were 2.5×10-7 and 2.0×10-7 M and in 10mM Na2SO4 the detection limits were 2.5×10-7 and 1.2×10-7 M, respectively. The response time of the sensor was less than 5s for changes at higher concentration levels (above 1×10-4M) in both water and 10mM Na2SO4. At lower concentrations (below 1×10-5M) the response times were 8 and 6s in water and 10mM Na2SO4, respectively. The signal drift of the sensor was 1.2mV/hour. The new carbon-based sensor exhibited excellent selectivity performance for DS over almost all of the anions commonly present in commercial formulations and it was successfully employed as an end-point detector in potentiometric titrations of anionic surfactants in a pH range from 3 to 12. Three-component mixtures containing sodium alkanesulfonate (C10, C12 and C14) were successfully differentially titrated.