Highly sensitive and selective FIA flow injection analysis procedures for the determination of sulfite/hydrogen sulfite/sulfur dioxide were developed on the basis of an in situ-generated o-phthalaldehyde (OPA)/ammonium reagent and fluorescence detection. The highest sensitivity was achieved at an excitation wavelength of 330 nm, an emission wavelength of 390 nm, and at pH 6.5. Sulfite concentrations between 2.5 nM and 5 microM can be determined with relative standard deviations between 10.5 and 1.0% (n = 5, confidence level alpha = 0.05) by utilization of a reagent that contains 0.2 mM OPA and 0.4 M NH4Cl in 50 mM potassium phosphate buffer. A concentration of 0.1 mM sulfite can be selectively detected in the presence of thiosulfate, thioglycolate, tetrathionate, cysteine, and ascorbate. The fluorometric sulfite detection was combined with a membrane gas diffusion step to improve the selectivity with respect to nonvolatile fluorescing substances. The total sulfite content can be quantitatively separated as sulfur dioxide into an acceptor solution before its flow detection. Between 40 nM and 0.1 mM sulfite can be determined. After 1,000-fold dilution, the total sulfite content can be determined in white and red wines.
Selective and sensitive procedures for the determination of ammonium in river water and diluted urine were developed by using flow injection analysis equipment. The methods are based on the derivatization of ammonia with o-phthaldehyde (OPA) and thioglycolate under alkaline conditions. The formed isoindole derivative is detected fluorimetrically at an excitation wavelength of 415 nm and an emission wavelength of 485 nm. The derivatization only takes 15 to 20 s at room temperature to achieve the maximum sensitivity. The optimized OPA reagent shows a surprisingly high selectivity for ammonium in the presence of many primary amines. With respect to the analysis of turbid and fluorescent sample solutions the selectivity can be improved by separating the ammonia through a microporous membrane from the OPA reagent. Without this separation step ammonia can be detected in the range between 0.05 and 100 microM with excellent linearity. After the insertion of an optimized membrane separation cell ammonia can be determined in the linear range between 0.2 microM and 20 mM.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.