Sergio Armenta

A review of recent, unconventional applications of ion mobility spectrometry (IMS)

The applications of ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) have grown exponentially beyond its uses for explosive, illicit drug and chemical warfare agent monitoring in recent years. Instrumental developments including new drift tube materials and ionization sources have enabled the manufacturing of more sophisticated and affordable IMS equipment for the advantageous analysis of samples with no pretreatment. The most recent applications of IMS include quality control and cleaning validation procedures in the pharmaceutical industry; determinations of contaminants in food samples; clinical analyses of biological fluids; environmental analyses of contaminants in gaseous, liquid and solid samples; and (bio)process quality control monitoring. Coupling IMS with MS(n) has enabled the analysis of very complex samples and the extraction of knowledge unavailable from isolated MS measurements, especially in the polymer and petroleomic industries.

A review of non-chromatographic methods for speciation analysis.

This manuscript overviews relevant scientific literature concerning speciation of trace elements by using non-chromatographic methods. The main principles of the different strategies proposed in the published works and their advantages and drawbacks are discussed in order to provide to the readers an appropriate picture of the state-of the-art of fast and cheap methodologies available to obtain information about the presence of different chemical forms of trace elements in environmental, clinical and food samples. A selection of the methods proposed for the speciation of the different elements studied was also provided together with their main features.

The use of near-infrared spectrometry in the olive oil industry.

The enormous possibilities offered by near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy for the (on/in/at-line) quality control process of olive fruits, pastes, and oils are summarized throughout this paper. Special attention has been paid to the combination of NIR and chemometric treatments for the on-line analysis of olive fruits and also for the quality parameters evaluation on olive oils and pastes which can enhance the production of a high quality olive oil and the selection of olive fruit with superior properties. The implementation of NIR sensors in olive mills with successful results has also been reviewed and the commercial olive fruit and oil analyzers highlighted.

Searching the Most Appropriate Sample Pretreatment for the Elemental Analysis of Wines by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Based Techniques

Different sample preparation methods were evaluated for the simultaneous multielement analysis of wine samples by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Microwave-assisted digestion in closed vessel, thermal digestion in open reactor, and direct sample dilution were considered for the determination of Li, Be, Na, Mg, Al, K, Ca, Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Sr, Y, Mo, Cd, Ba, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu, Tl, Pb, and Bi in 12 samples of red wine from Valencia and Utiel-Requena protected designation of origin. ICP-MS allows the determination of 17 elements in most of the samples, and using ICP-OES, a maximum of 15 elements were determined. On comparing the sample pretreatment methodology, it can be concluded that the three assayed procedures provide comparable results for the concentration of Li, Na, Mg, Al, K, Ca, Mn, Fe, Zn, and Sr by ICP-OES. Furthermore, ICP-MS data found for Cu, Pb, and Ba were comparable. Digestion treatment provides comparable values using both total decomposition in open system and microwave-assisted treatment for Cu by ICP-OES and for Cr, Ni, and Zn by ICP-MS. Open vessel total digestion provides excess values for Cr, Mn, Fe, and Zn by ICP-OES and defect values for Se. However, direct measurement of diluted wine samples provided uncomparable results with the digestion treatment for Mn, Cu, Pb, Zn, Ba, and Bi by ICP-OES and for Mg, Cr, Fe, Ni, and Zn by ICP-MS. Therefore, it can be concluded that microwave-assisted digestion is the pretreatment procedure of choice for elemental analysis of wine by ICP-based techniques.

Determination of pyrimidine and purine bases by reversed-phase capillary liquid chromatography with at-line surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopic detection employing a novel SERS substrate based on ZnS/CdSe silver-quantum dots.

We have developed a new SERS substrate based on the reduction of silver nitrate in the presence of ZnS-capped CdSe quantum dots. This substrate showed higher sensitivities as compared to a hydroxylamine-reduced silver sol. On the basis of this new substrate, at-line SERS detection was coupled with capillary liquid chromatography (cap-LC) for the separation and selective determination of pyrimidine and purine bases. For this purpose, wells of a dedicated microtiter plate were loaded with 20 μL of the SERS substrate and placed on an automated x,y translation stage. A flow-through microdispenser capable of ejecting 50 pL droplets, at a frequency 100 Hz, was used as the interface to connect the cap-LC system to the wells loaded with SERS substrate. A detailed study of the dependence of both the separation and the surface-enhanced Raman spectra of each base on the pH was performed to optimize the system for maximum sensitivity and selectivity. Highly satisfactory analytical figures of merit were obtained for the six investigated bases (cytosine, xanthine, hypoxanthine, guanine, thymine, and adenine) with detection limits ranging between 0.2 and 0.3 ng injected on the capillary LC column, and the precisions were in the range of 3.0-6.3%.

Elemental composition of seasoning products.

The elemental composition of seasoning products, like spices garlic and onion, has been reviewed paying special attention to methods proposed in the literature to determine specific elements or as much as possible components of these products which are widespread used in food preservation or food flavouring and can contribute to the intake of both, essential and toxic elements. Sample treatment and metal speciation aspects have been critically revised concerning onion, garlic and pepper (the most commonly studied products).

Simultaneous determination of Folpet and Metalaxyl in pesticide formulations by flow injection Fourier transform infrared spectrometry

Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometric methodology has been developed for the simultaneous determination of Folpet and Metalaxyl in pesticide formulations. The method involves the extraction of both active principles by sonication of the sample with CHCl3 and direct measurement of the absorbance using peak height values at 1798 cm −1 corrected with a baseline defined at 1810 cm −1 for Folpet, and peak area data established from 1677 to 1667 cm −1 corrected using a baseline from 1692 to 1628 cm −1 for Metalaxyl. Limits of detection (3 s) values of 17 and 16 gg −1 were found for Folpet and Metalaxyl, respectively, with results comparable with those found by liquid chromatography with UV detection. The new method involves a considerable decrease in solvent consumption. The automation of the procedure by incorporating on-line dissolution and filtration of the samples allows complete mechanisation of the method and improves the safety of operation.

A validated and fast procedure for FTIR determination of Cypermethrin and Chlorpyrifos.

A FTIR methodology has been developed for the simultaneous determination of Cypermethrin and Chlorpyrifos in pesticide commercially available formulations. The method involves the extraction of both active principles with CHCl(3) and direct measurement of the peak area values between 1747 and 1737cm(-1) corrected with a baseline defined at 2000cm(-1) for Cypermethrin and peak height values established at 1549cm(-1) corrected using a baseline situated at 1650cm(-1) for Chlorpyrifos. The limits of detection achieved were of the order of 0.7 and 0.4% (w/w), and the relative standard deviation 0.4 and 0.2% for Cypermethrin and Chlorpyrifos, respectively. The developed procedure provided statistically comparable results with those obtained by HPLC, for a series of commercial samples, which validated the FTIR method. The procedure developed reduces organic solvent consumption, per sample preparation, from 51ml CH(3)CN required for HPLC to 2.5ml CHCl(3), and reduces waste generation also increasing the sample measurement frequency, from 3 to 30 samples/h, as compared with the HPLC-UV reference method.

The ways to the trace level analysis in infrared spectroscopy

The future of infrared (IR) spectroscopy as an analytical technique is assured due to its versatility and its numerous advantages; such as the possibility to obtain molecular specific information for virtually any sample in any state with no treatment or minimal sample preparation. However, spectroscopists are not satisfied with relegating IR spectroscopy just to major and minor component analysis and have been looking at analysis at the trace level too. This review is the recognition of the brilliant research performed during the past two decades and the advances achieved in this area, which have made possible the analysis of contaminants at parts per billion (ppb) levels by IR in different matrices; such as water and soils.

Developing automated analytical methods for scientific environments using LabVIEW

The development of new analytical techniques often requires the building of specially designed devices, each requiring its own dedicated control software. Especially in the research and development phase, LabVIEW has proven to be one highly useful tool for developing this software. Yet, it is still common practice to develop individual solutions for different instruments. In contrast to this, we present here a single LabVIEW-based program that can be directly applied to various analytical tasks without having to change the program code. Driven by a set of simple script commands, it can control a whole range of instruments, from valves and pumps to full-scale spectrometers. Fluid sample (pre-)treatment and separation procedures can thus be flexibly coupled to a wide range of analytical detection methods. Here, the capabilities of the program have been demonstrated by using it for the control of both a sequential injection analysis - capillary electrophoresis (SIA-CE) system with UV detection, and an analytical setup for studying the inhibition of enzymatic reactions using a SIA system with FTIR detection.