The use of Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes (MWCNT) as solid sorbent in Matrix Solid-Phase Dispersion (MSPD) extraction and preconcentration method was presented to determine some commonly used organophosphorus insecticides/OPIs in honey samples using a Gas Chromatography Flame Ionization Detector (GC-FID). OPIs are poisonous compounds used to kill insects and rodents by affecting their nervous system. The limit of detections obtained after MSPD extraction were 7.0 ng/g for Malathion, Malaoxon and Fenitrothion and 33.3 ng/g for Isomalathion. The recovery of the insecticides from spiked honey, ranged from 83.6% to 103.3% with % RSD ranged from 9.8% to 12.3% (n=3). The correlation coefficient (R2) of the calibration data varied from 0.9945 to 0.9987. Standard addition method was utilized to examine matrix-induced effects on analyte peaks, and to demonstrate the efficiency of the method. The MSPD extraction was successfully applied for the analysis of four honey samples but no insecticide residues were detected.

Magnetite (Fe3O4) and Maghemite (&amp / #947 / -Fe2O3) are well-known iron oxide phases among magnetic nanoparticles due to their magnetic properties, chemical stability, and nontoxicity. They have gained acceptance in several fields of application of nanomaterials such as magnetic recording systems, magnetic refrigeration, magneto-optical devices, magnetic resonance imaging, magnetic separation techniques and separation and purification of biological molecules. Recently, there is a growing interest in the synthesis of magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles in a polymeric, glassy or ceramic matrix since the preparation of pure phase iron oxide composite material involves, presently, some difficulties partially arising from different oxidation states of iron which can lead to the presence of various oxides. Matrix support, in principle, modifies the properties of nanomaterials, thus opening new possibilities for the control of their performance. In addition, the chosen matrix, polymer or sol-gel, provides binding of the functional groups and also prevents grain growth and agglomeration. Therefore, extensive research is conducted on this subject. Sonochemical technique is an effective method to synthesize magnetic nanoparticles with many unique properties due to extreme reaction conditions. Besides, a microscopic mixing in the synthesis procedure is obtained because of the microjet effect which comes from the collapse of the bubbles. This effect creates relatively uniform reaction conditions. Thus, well-dispersed and stable nanoparticles are obtained by using ultrasound. In this study, &amp / #947 / -Fe2O3, maghemite nanoparticles are accommodated in an inert, inorganic, transparent and temperature resistant sol gel matrix to achieve stabilization. The nature and concentration of the salt used, evaporation conditions of the sols, the following heat treatments had been investigated and shown that they had great influence on the particle size and the final iron oxide phase in the sol-gel. The Fe2O3/SiO2 nanocomposites were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM) techniques. In addition, magnetite (Fe3O4) nanoparticles were synthesized via co-precipitation in the presence of poly(methacrylic acid) (PMAA) in aqueous solution. PMAA, which was used as the coating material, prevents magnetite nanoparticles from oxidation towards a lower saturation magnetization iron oxide phases. In order to achieve small particle size and uniform size distribution of the magnetite nanoparticles in PMAA matrix, ultrasonic irradiation was applied during co-precipitation. The polymer coated Fe3O4 nanoparticles were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), laser particle sizer, X-ray diffraction, (XRD) and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM) techniques and zeta potential measurements.

Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (FAAS) still keeps its importance despite the relatively low sensitivity / because it is a simple and economical technique for determination of metals. In recent years atom traps have been developed to increase the sensitivity of FAAS. Although the detection limit of FAAS is only at the level of mg/L, with the use of atom traps it can reach to ng/mL. Slotted quartz tube (SQT) is one of these atom traps, it is applied for determination of volatile elements / it is economical, commercially available and easy to use. In this study, a sensitive analytical method has been developed for the determination of lead with the help of SQT. Regarding the angle between the two slots of SQT, 120&deg / and 180&deg / configurations were used and the results were compared. There were three modes of SQT used. The first application was for providing longer residence time of analyte atoms in the measurement zone / 3 fold sensitivity enhancement was observed. The second mode was the usage of SQT for preconcentration of lead atoms. In the presence of a lean air-acetylene flame, analyte atoms were trapped in the inner surface of SQT for a few minutes. Then, by the help of a small volume (10-50 &amp / #956 / L) of Methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK), analyte atoms were revolatilized and a rapid atomization took place. Using this mode, a sensitivity enhancement of 574 was obtained at a rather low (3.9 mL/min) suction rate / 1320 fold improvement was reached at higher sample suction rate (7.4 mL/min) for 5.0 min collection. The last mode involves coating of the inner surface of SQT with several kinds of transition metals. The best sensitivity enhancement, 1650 fold, was obtained by the Ta coated SQT. In addition, effects of some elements and anions on Pb signal in Tacoated-SQT-AT-FAAS were examined. Final step consists of surface analysis / chemical nature of Pb trapped on quartz and Ta surface, and the chemical nature of Ta on quartz surface were investigated by X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and Raman Spectroscopy.

In recent years speciation analysis is becoming more important as it is known that each chemical form of an element behaves differently in biological and environmental media. Since abundance of tellurium in earth crust is extremely low, very sensitive and accurate methods are needed to determine the concentration of tellurium. Hydride generation atomic absorption is a sensitive, fast and economical technique applied for the determination of tellurium. Speciation of tellurium can be achieved by making use of different kinetic behaviors of Te(IV) and Te(VI) upon its reaction with sodiumborohydride. A continuous flow hydride generation system was developed and parameters that affect the analytical signal were optimized. Sample solutions were prepared in 4.0 mol/L HCl / as reductant 0.5 % (w/v) sodiumborohydride in 0.5 % (w/v) NaOH was used. Quantitative reduction of Te(VI) was achieved through application of a microwave assisted prereduction of Te(VI) in 6.0 mol/L HCl solution. Sensitivity of the system was further enhanced by in-situ trapping of the formed H2Te species in a previously heated graphite furnace whose surface was modified using Pd or Ru. Overall efficiency of pyrolytic coated graphite surface was found to be 15% when hydrides are trapped for 60 seconds at 300 oC. LOD and LOQ values were calculated as 86 pg/mL and 287 pg/mL according to peak height values. Efficiency was increased by 46% and 36% when Pd and Ru modifiers were used, respectively. With Ru modified graphite tube 173 fold enhancement was obtained over 180 seconds trapping period with respect to direct ETAAS. LOD values were 6.4 and 2.2 pg/mL for Pd and Ru treated systems, respectively, for 180 s collection of 9.6 mL sample solution.

ABSTRACT DETERMINATION OF CADMIUM USING SLOTTED QUARTZ TUBE ATOM TRAP ATOMIC ABSORPTION SPECTROMETRY AND METAL COATINGS &Ouml / zcan Gurbetoglu, G. Pelin M.S., Department of Chemistry Supervisor: Prof. Dr. O. Yavuz Ataman July 2010, 76 pages Flame atomic absorption spectroscopy (FAAS) is a common technique for detecting metals and metalloids in environmental, biological and metallurgical samples. Although it is a rather old technique, it is still very reliable, simple to use and inexpensive. The technique can be used to determine the concentration of over 70 different metals in a solution. However, it has detection limits at mg/L levels. Some atom trapping methods have been developed to reach the detection limits of ng/mL levels. Slotted quartz tube (SQT) is one of these atom trapping methods. It is an important technique, since it is easy to use, applicable in all laboratories, commercially available and economical. This thesis consists of development of a sensitive method for cadmium with the help of SQT atom trap. In this study, it was used for two different purposes. One was for keeping the analyte atoms more in the light path / in other words, for increasing the residence times of analyte atoms in the measurement zone. This first application was provided a 2.9 times enhancement with respect to conventional FAAS. Second application was for trapping the analyte on the surface of the SQT, in other words, for performing on-line preconcentration of cadmium in SQT. In the presence of a lean flame, analyte samples were trapped and collected for a few minutes at a low suction rate. After finishing the collection period, analyte atoms were revolatilized with the help of a small volume of (10-50 &micro / L) methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK) and a rapid atomization occurred. This introduction also altered the flame composition momentarily and analyte atoms were released from the surface of the SQT. Application of this method enhanced the sensitivity 2065 times with respect to conventional FAAS. Another approach to this type of atom trapping has been investigated also in this study, which was coating of SQT with some metals having low volatility. Therefore, some transition metals were coated to the surface of SQT and among them zirconium was selected as the best coating material as having the most sensitivity enhancement factor. That is why, rest of the study was performed with the Zr coated SQT. The enhancement was 3368 as compared with FAAS. Cd determination with this method provides LOD value of 8 pg/mL and Co value of 19 pg/mL. In order to see the effect of some other type of elements or ions on determination of cadmium, interference study was done.

Boron element plays an important role for our country since approximately 70% of the world&rsquo / s reserves are in Turkey. It is widely used in different areas of industry. Besides being vital for the plants, it is important also for human health. It has been shown that high boron exposure does not affect fertility negatively and also with an increasing boron exposure, risk of prostate and cervical cancers decreases. There are different opinions regarding health effects of boron. There are both positive and negative findings. Therefore, determination of boron in body fluids such as urine and blood is necessary to monitor exposed concentration level and its relation with diseases. Furthermore, these studies may contribute to define a reference value for safe maximum daily boron intake. In this study, a method previously developed by our research group was applied for the determination of boron in urine samples. Urine and blood samples were collected from human subjects living or working in different regions of Balikesir where boron reserves are located. While urine analysis was done by using Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES), due to lower concentrations of boron in blood, Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) was used for blood analysis. A sensitive method was developed using ICP-MS. Samples were digested in microwave oven by applying optimized digestion procedures. Indium (In) and Beryllium (Be) internal standards were spiked into the urine and blood samples, respectively. A sample introduction system containing no glass or silica surfaces was used in ICP-MS to eliminate boron memory effect. Two isotopes of the boron, 10B and 11B, were monitored during the study. Space charge effect due to Na+ ion and carbon interference on B and Be signals was investigated in detail. Limit of Detection was 0.021 mg/L for ICP-OES and it was 2.2 &micro / g/L for ICP-MS. The accuracies of the methods were checked by using NIST 1573a Tomato Leaves and BCR Human Hair certified reference materials for urine and blood, respectively.

Bringing together several materials into a single nanoparticle is an attractive way to design systems that exhibit diverse physical and chemical properties. Cobalt nanoparticles are extensively used in magnetic separation, ferrofluids, and magnetic storage media. The deposition of gold nanoparticles onto cobalt core significantly affects their optical properties due to the introduction of surface Plasmon. Here the synthesis of gold nanoparticles decorated cobalt-silica nanoparticles are reported for the first time. Their optical and magnetic properties and capacity as a surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate were investigated. This nano-material is of particular interest as a dual agent allowing both magnetic separation and SERS detection. The synthesis involves three steps: i) synthesis of Co nanoparticles / ii) deposition of a silica shell around the Co core and introduction of amine functional groups on the surface / iii) decoration of the surface with gold nanoparticles. Co nanoparticles were prepared in an inert atmosphere in the presence of capping and reducing agents. Size of the cobalt nanoparticles was varied by changing the concentration of the capping agent. Since cobalt particles are easily oxidized, they were coated with silica shell both to prevent oxidation and allow further functionalization. Silica coating of the particles were performed in water/ethanolic solution of tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS). Thickness of silica coating was controlled by varying the concentrations of TEOS. Besides, by adding 3-aminopropyl-triethoxysilane (APTS) to the reaction medium, primarily amine groups were introduced on the silica surface. For further modifications citrate stabilized gold nanoparticles were appended onto the surface of amine modified core-shell cobalt-silica nanoparticles. Gold decorated magnetic core-shell structures were used as SERS substrate with Raman dyes / brilliant cresyl blue (BCB) and rhodamine 6G (R6G). They were also utilized for preconcentration and SERS detection of 4-mercapto benzoic acid (4-MBA). Gold nanoparticles on the silica and thiol group on the 4-MBA were very selective to each other, thus, 4-MBA could be attached on to gold surface and it could be easily separated magnetically from the reaction medium and identified by Raman spectroscopy. Characterization of the cobalt, cobalt-silica and gold modified cobalt-silica nanoparticles was done by Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM), Scanning-Transmission Electron Microscopy (S-TEM), Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDX), UV-Vis spectrometry, and Raman microscope system.

Selenium is a trace and essential element for good health but required only in very narrow range. Hence, determination of selenium in trace level in any matrix related with human health is important. A preconcentration method is performed to obtain a low detection limit for analyte. In this study, the methodology of cloud point extraction (CPE) was used as the preconcentration method for speciation of selenium in vitamin tablets. Non-ionic surfactant Triton X-114 and a fluorimetric ligand, 2,3- diaminonaphtalene (DAN) were used for the extraction of trace levels of organic and inorganic selenium species as a prior step to their determination by spectrofluorimetry. The aqueous solutions of nonionic and zwitterionic surfactant materials become cloudy when temperature reaches the cloud point temperature and analyte collapses with surface active material. The volume of surfactant rich phase is smaller than the solution volume and by this way high preconcentration factor was obtained. Optimization of the CPE parameters affecting complexation and phase separation was performed. Standard addition method was used in the quantitative measurements. Spectrofluorimetric determination of selenium was done using excitation and emission wavelegths of 380 nm end 570 nm respectively. The detection limit, established as 3s /slope where s is the standard deviation of 12 measurements of 0.02 mg/L Se-DAN complex after 10 fold preconcentration was 2.3 &micro / g/L. Accuracy of the method was checked using EnviroMat Waste Water, EU-L-2 as SRM and the result was in good agreement with certified value.Besides, selenium rich vegetables (dill, watercress herb and garlic) were grown in a pot at a controlled atmosphere.Selenium in plants (dill, watercress gerb and garlic), both control and enriched groups was determined by ICP-MS.

The extraction procedures for the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) concentrations in sediment samples had been developed by using GC-FID and GC-MS. The optimized methods were soxhlet extraction, ultrasonic bath extraction and solid phase micro extraction (SPME). In order to search out the main factors affecting extraction efficiencies of the methods, factorial design was used. The best extraction method was chosen and optimum values for main factors were selected for the development of the extraction method for PAH determination in sediment samples. The accuracy of the method was verified by analyzing NIST SRM 1597 (complex mixture of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from coal tar). The selectivitiy and sensitivity obtained were quite adequate for the determination of PAHs in sediment sample. The best extraction and analysis methods were then applied to determine 16 PAHs in sea sediments from &Ouml / l&uuml / deniz Lagoon, Mugla, Turkey and 19 PAHs in Ikizcetepeler Dam Lake, Balikesir, Turkey sediments to illustrate the capability of the selected extraction and analysis method to detect PAHs and to determine the status of the contamination.

Flame Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (FAAS) has lover sensitivity than similar analytical methods, however it has an important place for analysis due to its easy application and economic practicability especially in metal determinations. In order to increase the sensitivity of FAAS from mg/L level to ng/L level, various atom trap systems have been used. One of these atom traps, Slotted Quartz Tube (SQT), which is easy, economical and useful for volatile element determination, is used in this study as a sensitive analytical method for determination of tellurium. In the study, determination of Te by SQT is handled in three different modules. First, only with SQT itself, longer residence time for Te atoms in the measurement zone is provided and consequently 3.2 fold sensitivity enhancement is obtained both for Te (VI) and Te (IV). In the second module, SQT is used for concentration of tellurium species in a lean flame by sending the analyte into SQT for a definite time and trapping them on the inner surface of the SQT. After trapping the analyte, in order to determine the Te concentration, a small volume (10-50 &micro / L) of organic solvent such as methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) is introduced to the flame for revolatilization and a rapid atomization of Te on the surface is provided. In this trapping method, for 5 minutes collection with a 6 mL/min suction rate, 143 fold enhancement for Te (VI) and 142 fold enhancement for Te (IV) were obtained. In the third module, different from the second one, the inner surface of the SQT is coated with different metals for increasing the amount of Te trapped on the surface and the best enhancement for tellurium is obtained with Tantalum-coated SQT with 252 fold enhancement for Te (VI) and 246 fold enhancements for Te (IV). All improvements are calculated according to the signals obtained in FAAS method. Separate calibration plots were used for Te (IV) and Te (VI).