Flow injection analysis with on-line nylon powder extraction for room-temperature phosphorescence determination of thiabendazole

Review of Characteristics and Analytical Methods for Determination of Thiabendazole

Thiabendazole (TBZ) is a fungicide and anthelmintic drug commonly found in food products. Due to its toxicity and potential carcinogenicity, its determination in various samples is important for public health. Different analytical methods can be used to determine the presence and concentration of TBZ in samples. Liquid chromatography (LC) and its subtypes, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC), are the most commonly used methods for TBZ determination representing 19%, 18%, and 18% of the described methods, respectively. Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) and fluorimetry are two more methods widely used for TBZ determination, representing 13% and 12% of the described methods, respectively. In this review, a number of methods for TBZ determination are described, but due to their limitations, there is a high potential for the further improvement and development of each method in order to obtain a simple, precise, and accurate method that can be used for routine analysis.

A new sensor for direct potentiometric determination of thiabendazole in fruit peels using the Gran method

A new sensor for direct potentiometric determination of thiabendazole (TBZ) was prepared. The ionic pair of TBZ cation and the 5-sulfosalicylate anion was used as the new sensor material incorporated in liquid type of ion-selective electrode membrane for TBZ determination. For optimization of the membrane of the sensor for TBZ determination, six different plasticizers and the content of the sensor material in the membrane were varied. The chosen sensor with dibutyl sebacate (DS) as plasticizer and 1% of sensor material in the membrane was characterized with Nernstian response towards TBZ (62.2 mV/decade of activity), a wide working range (8.6∙10^-7-1.0∙10^-3 M), and a low limit of detection (3.2·10^-7 M). Also, it proved to be an accurate and reliable sensor for TBZ determination in pure and real samples (peel of oranges, lemons and bananas) where it was determined using direct potentiometry and Gran method.

A New, MWCNT-Based, Solid-State Thiabendazole-Selective Sensor

Direct potentiometric measurements using solid-state sensors have a great potential for thiabendazole (TBZ) determination, considering simplicity, accuracy, and low cost. Modifying the sensing material of the sensor with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) leads to improved analytical properties of the sensor. In this study, a new potentiometric solid-state sensor for TBZ determination, based on MWCNTs modified with a sulfate group, and TBZ ion as sensing material was developed. The sensor exhibited a Nernstian response for TBZ (60.4 mV/decade of activity) in a working range between 8.6 × 10⁻⁷ and 1.0 × 10⁻³ M. The detection limit for TBZ was 6.2 × 10⁻⁷ M. The response time of the sensor for TBZ was 8 s, and its signal drift was only 1.7 mV/h. The new sensor is applicable for direct potentiometric determination of TBZ in complex real samples, such as fruit peel. The accuracy of TBZ determination is confirmed using the standard addition method.

Sensors Applied for the Detection of Pesticides and Heavy Metals in Freshwaters

Water is essential for every life living on the planet. However, we are facing a more serious situation such as water pollution since the industrial revolution. Fortunately, many efforts have been done to alleviate/restore water quality in freshwaters. Numerous sensors have been developed to monitor the dynamic change of water quality for ecological, early warning, and protection reasons. In the present review, we briefly introduced the pollution status of two major pollutants, i.e., pesticides and heavy metals, in freshwaters worldwide. Then, we collected data on the sensors applied to detect the two categories of pollutants in freshwaters. Special focuses were given on the sensitivity of sensors indicated by the limit of detection (LOD), sensor types, and applied waterbodies. Our results showed that most of the sensors can be applied for stream and river water. The average LOD was72.53±12.69 ng/ml (n=180) for all pesticides, which is significantly higher than that for heavy metals (65.36±47.51 ng/ml,n=117). However, the LODs of a considerable part of pesticides and heavy metal sensors were higher than the criterion maximum concentration for aquatic life or the maximum contaminant limit concentration for drinking water. For pesticide sensors, the average LODs did not differ among insecticides (63.83±17.42 ng/ml,n=87), herbicides (98.06±23.39 ng/ml,n=71), and fungicides (24.60±14.41 ng/ml,n=22). The LODs that differed among sensor types with biosensors had the highest sensitivity, while electrochemical optical and biooptical sensors showed the lowest sensitivity. The sensitivity of heavy metal sensors varied among heavy metals and sensor types. Most of the sensors were targeted on lead, cadmium, mercury, and copper using electrochemical methods. These results imply that future development of pesticides and heavy metal sensors should (1) enhance the sensitivity to meet the requirements for the protection of aquatic ecosystems and human health and (2) cover more diverse pesticides and heavy metals especially those toxic pollutants that are widely used and frequently been detected in freshwaters (e.g., glyphosate, fungicides, zinc, chromium, and arsenic).

Room temperature phosphorescence of five PAHs in a synergistic mesoporous silica nanoparticle-deoxycholate substrate

A synergistic mesoporous silica nanoparticle-sodium deoxycholate (mPS-NaDC) substrate was developed for room temperature phosphorimetry. The synergistic substrate exhibited rapid and strong RTP-inducing ability against temperature variation. NaDC might adsorb on the inner surface of mPS pore by possible hydrogen bonding and protected the triplet state of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) with different molecular sizes. Two mPSs named LPMS1 and LPMS2 with pore size of 3.05 and 3.83nm were synthesized and optimized in inducing RTP, and the latter, LPMS2, was selected as an ideal substrate because of its stronger protection ability to the triplet and good stability. Dibromopropane and cyclohexane were also used as assistant phosphorescence-inducers. All results demonstrated the feasibility and application potential of synergistic mPS-NaDC substrate in phosphorimetry. The interaction detail of NaDC and inner surface of selected mPS still needs to be explored in future.

Room temperature phosphorescence of 9-bromophenanthrene, and the interaction with various metal ions

The Flow Inject Drop Luminescence Sensor (FIDLS) is featured by advantages such as high precision and work simplification over typical luminescent spectrometers. With the FIDLS system, this study is the first to examine the sodium deoxycholate (NaDC) inducing room temperature phosphorescence (RTP) of 9-bromophenanthrene (BrP). Among the factors that influenced phosphorescence, the injection speed of the FIDLS was optimized at 5.0 mL h(-1). A solvent content of 1.0% or less was selected to avoid RTP quenching. When samples were placed at temperatures higher than room temperature (e.g., 303 K), the standing time of the sample decreased. The minimum detectable level of BrP was 8.0 × 10(-10) mol L(-1), and BrP RTP reached its maximum intensity at a BrP concentration of 1.0 × 10(-5) mol L(-1). The optimal clathrate concentration of NaDC was 4.9 × 10(-3) mol L(-1), which was also the critical micelle concentration. We found that NaDC primary micelles gradually formed, but that secondary micelles formed and decomposed at a considerably faster rate. Fluorescence and absorbance tests demonstrated the coordination reactions of BrP with Cr(6+) and Fe(3+), indicating the potential application of BrP as a fluorescence probe.

Luminescence sensors applied to water analysis of organic pollutants--an update

The development of chemical sensors for environmental analysis based on fluorescence, phosphorescence and chemiluminescence signals continues to be a dynamic topic within the sensor field. This review covers the fundamentals of this type of sensors, and an update on recent works devoted to quantifying organic pollutants in environmental waters, focusing on advances since about 2005. Among the wide variety of these contaminants, special attention has been paid polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, pesticides, explosives and emerging organic pollutants. The potential of coupling optical sensors with multivariate calibration methods in order to improve the selectivity is also discussed.