Conditional Equilibrium Constants Reviewed.

A free energy-based conceptual theoretical framework from which the conditional equilibrium constant can be comprehensibly understood is presented. This constant is found to be a weighted geometric mean of the equilibrium constants of the reactions of all forms of the conditioned species under buffering conditions, where the weight is given by a function of their predominance in terms of their mole fractions. Once it is shown that this type of equilibrium constant can be easily deduced form free energy functions, it is shown how corrections for activity coefficient can be incorporated as well.

Comparative study of As (V) uptake in aqueous medium by a polymer inclusion membrane-based passive sampling device and two filamentous fungi (Aspergillus niger and Rhizopus sp.).

In this work a polymer inclusion membrane (PIM) is proposed as passive sampler material and compared with two filamentous fungi for As (V) uptake to evaluate its ability as chemical surrogate material for the monitoring of this metalloid in aquatic environments. Results show excellent passive sampling characteristics of the device since a linear uptake profile as a function of time was observed. The correlation coefficients between the PIM passive sampler with Aspergillus niger (r = 0.