Comparison of Usefulness of Four Chelating Agents (EDTA, NTA, ODA and IDA) for the Chromatographic Separation of Micro and Macro Amounts of Rare Earth Elements.

Literature on the use of four chelating agents namely: ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, nitrilotriacetic acid, diglycolic acid and iminodiacetic acid for the chromatographic separation of micro and macro amounts of rare earth elements was critically reviewed and supplemented with some new unpublished data from our Laboratory. Advantages and disadvantages of ion exchange chromatography both in cation and anion mode as well as ion interaction chromatography techniques, which were used for rare earth elements separation, are discussed. The usefulness of some of the chromatographic systems for micro-macro separations was discussed and demonstrated.

Rare earth elements in fine fraction (<20 μm) of the Vistula River sediments.

Present studies facilitated testing the hypothesis that sediment fraction <20 μm contains different amounts of REEs. The potentially bioavailable rare earth elements (REEs) were determined in the following fractions of the surface sediments of the Vistula River: <5 μm, 5-10 μm, 10-20 μm, and total <20 μm. The attempt was made to fractionate the sediment by self-adjustable split-flow transport-thin fractionation channel operating in the full depletion mode (SPLITT-FFD-SA), which is a new concept and so far unused method for such purposes.

A comparison study on the use of Dowex 1 and TEVA-resin in determination of Tc in environmental and nuclear coolant samples in a SIA system with ICP-MS detection.

This work refers to a comparative study of sorbents widely used in determinations of Tc such as TEVA resin and Dowex 1. Despite having a similar functional group of quaternary amines, both materials represent different chromatographic methods-extraction (TEVA resin) and anion exchange (Dowex 1)-which provides a diverse range of their properties significant in determination of Tc in flow conditions. The comparative tests, carried out in a SIA-LOV (Sequential Injection Analysis-Lab-on-Valve) system combined with mass spectrometric (ICP-MS) detection, considered several factors that are crucial from the standpoint of resin´s utility such as sorption capacity, durability, or selectivity, critical in Tc separation from interferences.

Automation of sample processing for ICP-MS determination of Sr radionuclide at ppq level for nuclear technology and environmental purposes.

Sr is a widely determined radionuclide for environmental purposes, nuclear waste control, and can be also monitored in coolants in nuclear reactor plants. In the developed method, the ICP-MS detection was employed together with sample processing in sequential injection analysis (SIA) setup, equipped with a lab-on-valve with mechanized renewal of sorbent bed for solid-phase extraction. The optimized conditions of determination included preconcentration of Sr on cation-exchange column and removal of different type of interferences using extraction Sr-resin.

Development of potential candidate reference materials for drugs in bottom sediment, cod and herring tissues.

Regular use of a reference material and participation in a proficiency testing program can improve the reliability of analytical data. This paper presents the preparation of candidate reference materials for the drugs metoprolol, propranolol, carbamazepine, naproxen, and acenocoumarol in freshwater bottom sediment and cod and herring tissues. These reference materials are not available commercially.

Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry in comparison with neutron activation and ion chromatography with UV/VIS detection for the determination of lanthanides in plant materials.

Analytical performance of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) for determination of lanthanides in plant materials was investigated and compared with neutron activation analysis (NAA) as well as ion chromatography (IC) with UV-VIS detection. Two sample preparation protocols were tested: (i) microwave assisted digestion by concentrated nitric acid; (ii) microwave digestion involving silica and fluoride removal, followed by the selective and quantitative lanthanides group separation from the plant matrix. Several Certified Reference Materials (CRM) of plant origin were used for the evaluation of the accuracy of the applied analytical procedures.

Two new reference materials based on tobacco leaves: certification for over a dozen of toxic and essential elements.

The preparation, certification, and characterization of two new biological certified reference materials for inorganic trace analysis have been presented. They are based on two different varieties of tobacco leaves, namely, Oriental Basma Tobacco Leaves (INCT-OBTL-5), grown in Greece, and Polish Virginia Tobacco Leaves (INCT-PVTL-6), grown in Poland. Certification of the materials was based on the statistical evaluation of results obtained in a worldwide interlaboratory comparison, in which 87 laboratories from 18 countries participated, providing 2568 laboratory averages on nearly 80 elements.

Comparison of performance of INAA, RNAA and ion chromatography for the determination of individual lanthanides.

Lanthanides represent an interesting group of elements which are steadily gaining importance in science and in industry. Literature data suggest that they may have a role in regulating cellular processes and also in agriculture enhancing plant growth. Only few instrumental methods like NAA, ICP-OES and ICP-MS have potential for the determination of low levels of all lanthanides, but in practice they often have to be combined with suitable separation/preconcentration methods to achieve maximum number of elements being determined and to assure good accuracy and precision.

RNAA in metrology: A highly accurate (definitive) method.

The idea of highly accurate (definitive) methods by radiochemical neutron activation analysis (RNAA) is presented and illustrated with several examples of methods worked out in this Laboratory over the past several years. Definitive methods by RNAA are constructed by combining reactor neutron activation with very selective and quantitative post-irradiation separation of the indicator radionuclide by column chromatography followed by gamma-ray spectrometric measurement. All conditions for the determination of the individual element are optimized and uncertainties associated with every step of the analytical procedure are minimized.