Previously, selenium was known as an element with negative properties. However, in the last century, the significant positive effects on human health were detected. Currently, the function, behavior and toxicity of selenium are still not well known. The key to understand it is to do speciation analysis. The aim of this diploma thesis is to develop method for determination inorganic (sodium selenite and selenate) and organic (selenourea, selenocystine, selenomethionine) selenium compounds. Parameters of apparatus for electrochemical hydride generation with atomic absorption spectrometry detector were optimized, final conditions were set and optimal conditions for separation process using HPLC were investigated. Calibration dependences for selenium compounds were measured and analytical figures of merit were investigated. In conclusion, a coupled method HPLC- EcHG- QFAAS for determination of individual selenium compounds was proposed, and it was tested on urea samples. Calibrations for these measurements were investigated and analytic characteristics were calculated. Based on these comparisons it can be said that proposed method allows the determination of selected selenium compounds in both aqueous and urea matrices. Subject words: Spectroscopy, analytical chemistry Key words: Atomic absorption...

The main goal of the work presented in this thesis is to improve the reliability of existing methods for speciation analysis of organotin compounds Species-specific isotope dilution (SSID) calibration in combination with gas chromatography – inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry was used to investigate the transformation of phenyltin species during sample preparation. Isotope-enriched phenyltin species were synthesized from corresponding isotope-enriched tin metals. SSID with a mixture of phenyltin species (PhTs) from one isotope was used to evaluate different extraction procedures for the determination of PhTs in fresh water sediment. Preparative liquid chromatography was used to produce single isotope-enriched phenyltin species making a multi-isotope spike (MI) SSID calibration possible. Different extraction procedures for the analysis of phenyltin species in biological samples were evaluated by applying MI-SSID. Degradation of TPhT and DPhT during sample extraction was observed and quantified. Accurate results were therefore obtained. A sample preparation procedure using mild extraction conditions with reasonable recoveries is described. The stability of organotin standards was investigated under different storage conditions. Mono- and diphenyltin were found to be redistributed and degraded during storage in methanol but were stabilized in sodium acetate/ acetic acid. A fast redistribution between monobutyl- and diphenyl tin has been observed and therefore it is therefore recommended that standards be derivatized as soon as possible after butyl- and phenyltin standards are mixed. Included in the thesis is also an investigation of the analytical potential of using instrumentation based on atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) for speciation analysis of organotin compounds. The method was based on gas chromatographic separation, atomization in a quartz tube and detection by line source (LS) AAS and for comparison, by state of the art continuum source (CS) AAS. Analytical performances of CSAAS system were found to be better compared to LSAAS.

Lo scopo della tesi è di caratterizzare i rischi per la salute umana, che derivano dall’inquinamento delle acque (acque sotterranee) e dal cibo (riso) tramite l’applicazione e lo sviluppo di nuove tecniche analitiche. La tecnica “diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT)” con resina a base di ferrihydrite, è stata studiata per l'accumulo delle forme inorganiche (As(III) e As(V)) e organiche (DMA(V) e MMA(V)) di Arsenico in matrici acquose. I DGT sono stati applicati su campioni di acque sotterranee, raccolti in sei diverse città del Nord Italia, dove la concentrazione di As è molto alta. Antimonio (Sb) è associato all’As in diversi studi perché le proprietà fisiche e chimiche di questi due elementi sono simili, ed esso è stato recentemente riconosciuto come contaminante dell'acqua. In questa tesi per la prima volta sono state riportate le prestazioni dettagliate dei DGT con ferrihydrite, impiegati in soluzioni acquose di Sb(III) e Sb(V). L’analisi delle forme chimiche di Sb(III) e Sb(V) in campioni acquosi è stata realizzata con l’applicazione della diluizione isotopica. In generale il riso, a differenza di altri prodotti alimentari di origine terrestre, contiene quantità significative di Arsenico inorganico. L’analisi della speciazione di As è stata realizzata in 70 campioni di riso italiano, rappresentativo di diversi tipi di coltivazione. Le forme più abbondanti nel riso erano As(III) e DMA(V). Inoltre è stato interessante studiare la localizzazione dell’As nel chicco di riso, sottoposto a diversi processi di lavorazione (risone, riso integrale e lavorato con o senza parboiling), perché sia la distribuzione che la presenza delle diverse forme chimiche nel chicco sono fattori chiave che controllano la biodisponibilità del contaminante. La distribuzione dell’ As nei chicchi di riso di due varietà (Gladio e Ronaldo) sottoposti a diversi processi, è stato determinato con Laser Ablation ICP-MS. In realtà il contenuto di As era più alto nei chicchi di riso non-parboiled rispetto a quello parboiled. La relazione tra intensità dell’As e le varie parti del chicco di riso ha rivelato che i livelli di As diminuisco dalla parte esterna verso la posizione centrale, mentre i valori di As sembrano essere simili tra la parte media e interna dei non parboiled. / The aim of this thesis was to explore new analytical techniques as well as to carry out further characterisations of human health risks, which derive from water pollution, in particular groundwater, and food, in particular rice. The prevention of water pollution is an environmental aspect, that includes monitoring of both natural enrichment and outside pollution with routine analysis but also with new techniques, e.g. the application of passive sampling techniques and advanced technologies. The diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT) technique with ferrihydrite adsorbent, has been investigated for the accumulation of different species of Arsenic (As), like Inorganic Species (arsenite and arsenate) and Organic Arsenic (dimethylarsinic and monomethylarsenate) in aqueous matrix. To evaluate the performance of DGT method for accumulation of arsenic species, after deployment in synthetic solutions, DGT devices were carried out on groundwaters collected in six different towns in the North of Italy, where the As concentration is very high. Recently, health effects at arsenic exposures have been observed in areas where levels of inorganic As in drinking water are not excessive. Antimony (Sb) is associated to As in several studies because the physical and chemical properties of these two elements are similar, and it has been recently recognized as water contaminant. In this thesis I reported for the first time detailed performance characteristics of the Fe-oxide gel associated to DGT devices deployed in known aqueous solutions of trivalent and pentavalent Sb. Speciation analysis of Sb(III) and Sb(V) in aqueous samples was performed through extraction and on-line determination of isotope dilution concentration after a chromatographic separation. Generally rice, unlike food products of terrestrial origin, contains significant amounts of inorganic arsenic. Recently some Government Organizations (e.g. EFSA) debated the possibility to set an upper limit for total and inorganic arsenic in rice. Arsenic speciation was realized in 70 Italian rice samples from different representative cultivation conditions. The most abundant forms in rice were As(III) and DMA(V). After that, it was fundamental to investigate the localization of As in rice grains in different processes (raw, brown and milled rice with or without parboiling technique), because both speciation and distribution throughout the grain are key factors controlling bioavailability of the contaminant. The As distribution in rice grains of two varieties (Gladio and Ronaldo) from different processes, was determined by LA-ICP-MS. The distribution of As varied between the various parts of the grains (exterior, medium and interior part). During parboiling, the partial boiling of food as the first step in the cooking process, arsenic might have released from the grain to the boiling water. Thus, parboiling of rice grain may reduce the magnitude of arsenic intake in human body. Actually the As content was higher in non-parboiled rice grain than in parboiled rice. The relationship between As intensities and the different parts of rice grain revealed that As levels decreased from the external part towards the middle position, and then the intensity values seem to be similar between medium and internal part in non parboiled products.

In analytical chemistry the main goal is normally to determine the identity and/or concentration of one or more species in a sample. The samples analyzed are often natural samples, containing numerous different species in a complex matrix and the choice of technique for multi-elemental detection is in general inductively coupled plasma spectrometry. The chemical forms of an element can affect many of its characteristics e.g. toxicity, which makes speciation analysis important. Therefore, determination of the identity and quantity of an element is still important, but for many applications measurements of total element concentration provides insufficient information. To be able to perform speciation analysis, separation, identification and/or characterization of the various forms of elements in the sample has to be accomplished. Speciation analysis has been employed in a wide range of disciplines, including for example environmental science, biology and clinical chemistry. This thesis describes work to improve and understand the elemental speciation analysis with liquid chromatography coupled to plasma spectrometry and also highlights the importance and potential of the synergy between atomic spectrometry and molecular mass spectrometry. The combination of the matrix tolerant, robust and very sensitive plasma spectrometry used together with molecular mass spectrometry, which provides structural information and the possibility to identify unknown species, is demonstrated to be a very powerful tool for speciation analysis. In this thesis methods are developed for on-line sample clean-up and pre-concentration coupled to liquid chromatography and plasma spectrometry, which makes handling of small sample volumes easier and also decreases the risk of contamination. The problems associated with organic modifiers in plasma spectrometry are also addressed. Applications of speciation analysis are exemplified by analysis of aluminium-chelated siderophores in field-soil solutions and organic phosphorous species in aquatic sediments. The possibility to analyze un-dissolved samples as slurries with minimal sample preparation is also discussed.

Submitted by Luciana Sebin (lusebin@ufscar.br) on 2016-10-07T17:54:22Z No. of bitstreams: 1 TeseAFO.pdf: 3549447 bytes, checksum: 4e7cee7e550c3a9888b1a0994be5e4d1 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ronildo Prado (ronisp@ufscar.br) on 2016-10-10T20:05:35Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 TeseAFO.pdf: 3549447 bytes, checksum: 4e7cee7e550c3a9888b1a0994be5e4d1 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ronildo Prado (ronisp@ufscar.br) on 2016-10-10T20:08:58Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 TeseAFO.pdf: 3549447 bytes, checksum: 4e7cee7e550c3a9888b1a0994be5e4d1 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-10-10T20:31:01Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 TeseAFO.pdf: 3549447 bytes, checksum: 4e7cee7e550c3a9888b1a0994be5e4d1 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-01-28 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Selenium is essential in animal nutrition; it ensures proper functioning of musculoskeletal, reproductive, and immune system. The intake requirement range for Se is narrow and low levels of Se are required. In order to supply the demand, the animal feed supplementation has grown, considering the knowing of Se deficiency in soils from different countries. This supplementation is made with the use of organoselenium, because of its low toxicity and high bioavailability to the animal. This study targets organoselenium speciation (of Se-methionine and its product of oxidation, Se-O-methionine, and Se-cystine) in animal feed samples and beef using HPLC coupled to ICP-MS/MS. Inorganic species, selenate (Se(VI)) and selenite (Se(IV)), which could be toxic even at low levels, were also determined. The instrumental parameters were optimized and the use of hydrogen as reaction gas to remove the m/z= 80 (Se most abundant isotope) interferences was evaluated, and it demonstrated analytical capacity by using Se standard solutions in presence of interfering elements and CRMs (bovine liver and fish liver) digests indicated a calculated accuracy of 89 and 97 %, respectively. The Se chemical speciation method was applied in samples provided from an experiment with 48 animals (divided into four groups) were fed with Se enriched feed for 82 days. The groups are: (1) cattle feed (control); (2) cattle feed + antioxidants (organoselenium + vitamin E); (3) cattle feed + canola oil and (4) cattle feed + antioxidants (canola oil + organoselenium + vitamin E). A sample preparation method development for complex matrices like animal feed and beef was optimized with an enzyme coquetail. A good separation was obtained and Se species could be easily identified. The method is robust and his been applied for different types of samples with recoveries > 65%. The results infer that a majority of Se in both feed and beef present as Se-methionine. The same method was used to evaluate commercialized feed of swine, poultry and bovine in order to evaluate if the concentrations and species are in agreement with labels. In general the samples attend to legislation according to the evaluated parameters. / O selênio é um elemento essencial na nutrição animal e está associado ao funcionamento saudável dos sistemas músculoesquelético, reprodutivo e imunológico. O valor de ingestão diária recomendado é estreito e baixas concentrações de Se são necessárias. A fim de suprir as necessidades na alimentação animal, a prática de suplementação tem crescido, pois a deficiência de Se em solos de diversos países é comum. Essa suplementação é feita com o emprego de Se orgânico pela sua baixa toxicidade e alta biodisponibilidade para o animal. O presente estudo teve como objetivo a especiação de Se orgânico (como a Se-metionina e seu produto de oxidação, Se-O-metionina, e a Se-cistina) em amostras de ração animal e carne bovina utlizando HPLC acoplado ao ICP-MS/MS. As espécies inorgânicas, selenato (Se(VI)) e selenito (Se(IV)), as quais podem ser tóxicas mesmo em concentrações baixas também foram determinadas no método. A otimização dos parâmetros instrumentais e a avaliação do emprego de hidrogênio como gás de reação com os interferentes para determinação da m/z= 80 para monitoramento do isótopo mais abundante de Se foram realizadas, sendo a capacidade analítica demonstrada com o emprego de soluções padrão de Se na presença de possíveis interferentes e com o emprego de CRMs de fígado bovino e fígado de peixe, e a exatidão calculada foi de 89 e 97 %, respectivamente. A especiação química de Se foi aplicada a amostras provenientes de experimento com 48 animais (divididos em quatro grupos) alimentados com ração enriquecida de Se orgânico durante 82 dias. Os grupos foram: (1) ração animal (controle); (2) ração animal + antioxidantes (Se orgânico + vitamina E); (3) ração animal + óleo de canola e (4) ração animal + antioxidantes (óleo de canola + Se orgânico + vitamina E). O método de preparo de amostra para matrizes complexas, como ração animal e carne bovina foi otimizado com uma mistura de enzimas. Uma boa separação foi obtida e as espécies de Se foram facilmente identificadas. O método foi considerado robusto e tem sido aplicado para diferentes tipos de amostras com recuperações > 65%. Os resultados inferem que Se-metionina é a espécie majoritária nas amostras de rações animal e carne bovina. O método desenvolvido foi aplicado a extratos de ração animal comercializáveis de suínos, aves e bovinos, para verificação da veracidade quanto às espécies sugeridas nos rótulos das embalagens. De forma geral, as amostras atenderam a legislação perante aos quesitos avaliados. / CAPES: 001/2011 / CAPES: 99999.014317/2013-03

The aim of the theses was determination of selenium species in yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae cultivated in medium with added inorganic form of selenium (Sodium Selenite). Concentrations of Sodium Selenite in cultivation medium were 0,1; 1; 10 and 100 mg.l-1. Cultivation was undertaken in fermenting tub for period of 72 hours. Cultivated yeasts were extracted by use of enzymes and subsequently the species of selenium in particular parts of yeasts were determined. In order to determine selenium species, the method of high-performance liquid chromatography in combination with atomic fluorescent spectrometer and technique of hydride generation was used. Having analysed different fractions of the yeasts Saccharomyces cerevisiae it was ascertained that during cultivation the sorption of selenium occurred in form of Se4+ in cell membranes while in cytoplasm no inorganic forms of selenium were found. Furthermore, it was stated that yeasts Saccharomyces cerevisiae are able to metabolically change inorganic forms of selenium to organic forms (selenomethionine), while these forms are present in cytoplasm and they are likely to be bound to proteinic structures of cell membranes. An increase of concentration of Se4+ in cell membranes could be observed as a result of increasing concentration of Sodium Selenite in cultivation medium. In proteinic structures the concentration of organic selenium forms increased only to concentration 10 mg.l-1 of Sodium Selenite in cultivation medium.

The mercury occurs in the environment in a variety of forms. Mercury compounds can be found in the soil, atmosphere, water and living organisms. Although some of the mercury substances are very toxic, they are often used in various sectors of industry, agriculture and medicine. Mercury compounds differ in their toxicity, so it is necessary to do speciation analysis. The aim of this diploma thesis was to develop and validate a new analytical method for the determination of mercury compounds in different samples. This method involves the combination of high performance liquid chromatography, UV-photochemical cold vapor mercury generation and atomic absorption spectrometry. Effective separation of mercury(II), methylmercury(I), ethylmercury(I) and phenylmercury(I) ions and subsequent comparable efficient of mercury cold vapor generation from all of forms was achieved using these techniques. The reached detection limits were 8 µg l-1 , 31 µg l-1 , 16 µg l-1 and 38 µg l-1 . At the end of experimental work, the proposed method of RP-HPLC-UV-CVG- QTAAS was used for the determination of mercury compounds in real samples (fish tissue and water samples: Labe, Vltava and tap water) and in certified reference materials (DORM-3 and DOLT-4). Several methods for extraction of mercury species from solid samples...

The presented thesis deals with UV-photochemical generation of volatile compounds of Se and Te from various species. The aim of the project was to expand the current state of knowledge by the application of photocatalytic reduction of higher oxidation states of Se and Te for the speciation analysis based on UV-photochemical generation of volatile compounds. The first step of the study was the assembly of the apparatus for the photocatalysed UV-photochemical generation of volatile compounds. The material of reactor and the whole experimental set-up were based on literature survey and previous research done in our research group. Experiments were directed towards finding the optimum conditions for generation of volatile compounds of selected model elements Se and Te. Se was studied as the element most commonly determined by the UV-photochemical generation of volatile compounds. Conversely, Te was selected as a model analyte representing elements forming less stable volatile compounds. The second part was the application of the optimised method of photocatalysed UV- photochemical generation of volatile Se compound to the determination of Se in water matrices, liquid certified reference materials and also samples of dietary supplements. TiO2/UV-photochemical generation was also successfully modified to...

The presented dissertation thesis deals with the use of UV-photochemical generation of volatile compounds (UV-PVG) as a derivatization technique for the combination of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) detection. Two model elements arsenic and mercury and their compounds were selected for the speciation analysis. The work was divided into several parts that follow. In the first part of the research, the apparatus for the UV-photochemical generation of the volatile mercury compounds and their detection with a new continuum source and high-resolution atomic absorption spectrometer (HR-CS AAS) with an externally heated detection tube was constructed. The analytical method was adapted for use with atomic fluorescence detection with the aim to improve sensitivity of the determination. Furthermore, apparatus for the electrochemical generation of cold mercury vapor with AAS detection was built. The construction of the apparatus was followed by optimization of the reaction conditions (concentration and flow of electrochemical reagents: sulfuric and hydrochloric acid, mobile phase, carrier medium, flow rate of the carrier gas and localization of its introduction), determination of the analytical figures of merit, and comparation of the methods. Both...

The main aim of this thesis was the development of conjugation of existing methods for analysis of arsenic-glutathione complexes (As-GS complexes) together with simple arsenic species (iAs, MMAs, DMAs) during simple run. The basic technique for analysis of As-GS complexes was the HPLC-ICP-MS method with a reverse phase separation column (C18). The separation problem of simple species has been overcome by extending of system by postcolumn hydride generation with cryotrapping system (HG-CT). The resulting HPLC/HG-CT-ICP-MS system provides a complex analysis of all the above-mentioned analytes. According to the currently available resources, it is an innovative system, where for the first time all the simple arsenic species (iAs, MMAs, DMAs) and the As-GS complexes were separated. Under the given conditions, the detection limit for the As-GS complexes of 1.9 pg cm-3 in the RP-HPLC-ICP-MS system (a quantification limit of 6.5 pg cm-3 ) was achieved at a sensitivity of 468 CPS s pg-1 . The HG-CT-ICP-MS system provided a detection limit for iAs of 1.2 pg cm-3 at a sensitivity of 1121 CPS s pg-1 , for MMAs of 0.043 pg cm-3 at a sensitivity of 895 CPS s pg-1 and for DMAs of 0.076 pg.cm-3 at a sensitivity of 926 CPS s pg-1 . This method was applied to achieve another aim, studying the pathways of enzymatic...