Ion specificity in determining physico-chemical properties of drinking water

Abstract

Drinking water plays a key role in regulating the daily salt intake, thus potentially affecting (either in positive or in negative direction) the incidence of diet-related pathologies, including nephrolithiasis. Being regarded as wholesome, bottled water is increasingly preferred to tap water. However, its physico-chemical characterization, as reported on the label, is usually limited to pH and conductivity measurements, along with ion content. Dther parameters, which also are likely to influence the processes in which water is involved in the body, are usually neglected. On this work, the surface tension and density of tap water and two bottled mineral waters produced in Otaly are investigated. These parameters are critically determined by the ion content. Density is connected to the total ion amount, while surface tension is differentially affected by the presence of specific ionsI: sulfate increases its value, while bicarbonate keeps it almost constant. These results furnish a reliable scientific basis for future investigation on the connection between the physico-chemical properties of drinking water and its effect on health. Particularly, since interfacial phenomena play a key role in kidney stone formation, our results suggest that dietary enrichment of selected ions due to water intake could affect nephrolithiasis.

Correlation between Ion Composition of Oligomineral Water and Calcium Oxalate Crystal Formation

“…In a previous work, we studied the surface tension of the same oligomineral waters considered in the present work, finding the surface tension of OW2 to be slightly but significantly higher than that of OW1 [40]. We interpreted this difference as due to the effect of specific ions on the water structure at the interfaces.…”

Simple low-cost construction and calibration of accurate pneumotachographs for monitoring mechanical ventilation in low-resource settings

“…Since using a scale is a simple way to assess the volume of displaced water from its weight, we assumed that tap water density is 1 g/L. This provides a sufficiently accurate volume measurement (error <0.5%) since: (a) pure water density at 20°C is 0.9982 g/L and its dependence on laboratory temperature varies by only 0.2% between 15 and 25°C ( 24 ), and (b) the densities of mineral or tap water differ from that of pure water by <0.1% ( 25 ). Interestingly, we verified that water weight could be measured with sufficient accuracy (±2 mL) using a conventional low-cost kitchen scale.…”

Phenylboronic acid modification-based novel dumbbell-shaped Au–Ag nanorod SERS substrates for ultrasensitive detection of SO42−

“…3,4 Numerous studies have indicated that small SO 4 2− intake can promote metabolic reactions in the body and do not immediately threaten public health. However, a large amount of SO 4 2− not only can be converted to sulde via the "sulfur cycle", affecting water quality, but also massive intake can cause kidney stones, skin allergies, gastrointestinal disorders, and chest pain, among other serious consequences; 5,6 thus, SO 4 2− is used as one of the routine detection indicators for domestic drinking water in China. Currently, colorimetry, capillary electrophoresis (CE), 7 ion selective electrodes (ISE), 8,9 and other techniques are widely used worldwide for the detection of SO 4 2− .…”