A new diffusive gradients in a thin film (DGT) technique, using a titanium dioxide based adsorbent (Metsorb), has been developed and evaluated for the determination of dissolved inorganic arsenic and selenium. As(III), As(V), and Se(IV) were found to be quantitatively accumulated by the adsorbent (uptake efficiencies of 96.5-100%) and eluted in 1 M NaOH (elution efficiencies of 81.2%, 75.2%, and 88.7%). Se(VI) was not quantitatively accumulated by the adsorbent (<20%). Laboratory DGT validation experiments gave linear mass uptake over time (R(2) >or= 0.998) for As(III), As(V), and Se(IV). Consistent uptake occurred over pH (3.5-8.5) and ionic strength (0.0001-0.75 mol L(-1) NaNO(3)) ranges typical of natural waters, including seawater. Field deployments of DGT probes with various diffusive layer thicknesses confirmed the use of the technique in situ, allowing calculation of the diffusive boundary layers and an accurate measurement of inorganic arsenic. Reproducibility of the technique in field deployments was good (relative standard deviation <8%). Limits of detection (4 day deployments) were 0.01 microg L(-1) for inorganic arsenic and 0.05 microg L(-1) for Se(IV). The results of this study confirmed that DGT with Metsorb was a reliable and robust method for the measurement of inorganic arsenic and the selective measurement of Se(IV) within useful limits of accuracy.

A new diffusive gradients in a thin film (DGT) technique for measuring dissolved reactive phosphorus (DRP) in fresh and marine waters is reported. The new method, which uses a commercially available titanium dioxide based adsorbent (Metsorb), was evaluated and compared to the well-established ferrihydrite-DGT method (ferrihydrite cast within the polyacrylamide gel). DGT time-series experiments showed that the mass of DRP accumulated by Metsorb and ferrihydrite was linear with time when deployed in simple solutions. Both DGT methods showed predictable uptake across the pH (4.0-8.3) and ionic strength (0.0001-1 mol L(-1) NaNO(3)) ranges investigated, and the total capacity of the Metsorb binding phase (∼40,000 ng P) was 2.5-5 times higher than the reported total capacity of the ferrihydrite binding phase. The measurement of DRP in synthetic freshwater and synthetic seawater by Metsorb-DGT over a 4 day deployment period showed excellent agreement with the concentration of DRP measured directly in solution, whereas the ferrihydrite-DGT method significantly underestimated (23-30%) the DRP concentration in synthetic seawater for deployment times of two days or more. Field deployments of Metsorb-DGT samplers with various diffusive layer thicknesses allowed accurate measurement of both the diffusive boundary layer thickness and DRP concentration in situ. The Metsorb-DGT method performs similarly to ferrihydrite-DGT for freshwater measurements but is shown to be more accurate than the ferrihydrite method for determining DRP in seawater.

A diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT) technique for selectively measuring As(III) utilizes commercially available 3-mercaptopropyl-functionalized silica gel. Deployment of the new technique alongside the Metsorb-DGT for total inorganic arsenic allows the calculation of As(III) directly and As(V) by difference. Uptake of As(III) by mercapto-silica was quantitative and elution with a mixture of 1 mol L(-1) HNO(3) and 0.01 mol L(-1) KIO(3) gave a recovery of 85.6 ± 1.7%. DGT validation experiments showed linear accumulation of As(III) over time (R(2) > 0.998). Accumulation was unaffected by varying ionic strength (0.0001-0.75 mol L(-1) NaNO(3)) and pH (3.5-8.5). Deployment of mercapto-silica DGT and Metsorb DGT in seawater spiked with As(III) and As(V) demonstrated the ability of the combined approach to accurately quantify both species in the presence of potential competing ions. Ferrihydrite DGT, which has been previously reported for the measurement of total inorganic arsenic, was evaluated in seawater and shown to underestimate both As(III) and As(V) at longer deployment times (72 h). Reproducibility of the new mercapto-silica DGT technique was good (relative standard deviations < 9%), and the average method detection limit was sufficiently low to allow quantification of ultratrace concentrations of As(III) (0.03 μg L(-1); 72 h deployment).

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