Analytische Chemie
Filtern
Dokumenttyp
Sprache
- Englisch (3)
Schlagworte
- Aluminum (3) (entfernen)
Organisationseinheit der BAM
Aluminum is the third most abundant element in the earth crust and therefore ubiquitously detectable in the environment. Mostly found in the form of derivatives such as silicates or oxides, it also occurs as metallic aluminum for example as colorant in sweets or in aluminum foil.
With regard to potential toxicological effects, the different solubility of metallic aluminum nanoparticles compared to Al2O3 is of high relevance. Formation of ions may facilitate the crossing of blood-tissue barriers. Distribution towards other organs and subsequent re-formation of particulate aluminum due to milieu changes might occur. Therefore, the determination of solubility is required for proper risk assessment. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) allows determination of aluminum with a detection limit of about 6 ppb. It could be proven that dissolution and solubility of metallic aluminum is significantly different when compared to Al2O3.
Using ICP-MS in the single particle mode, a significant change in the behavior of both aluminum species was detected after undergoing the artificial digestion. Nearly unchanged in the saliva, particles show dissolution and high agglomeration during the gastric state before deagglomerating again in the intestine.
Further analysis by time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) revealed the uptake of both aluminum forms by proliferating and differentiated Caco-2 cells. For both particle forms different ions could be detected. Several aluminum-amino acid complex-derived ions from serine and valine were identified. In the case of Al2O3, Al2O2+, AlOH+, AlH2O+ and Al[(H2O)6]3+ were the main ions found co-localizing within treated cells.
The sensitive detection of the mycotoxin citrinin (CIT) utilizing ist fluorescence requires approaches to enhance the emission. In this respect, we studied the complexation of CIT and ochratoxin A (OTA) with Al3+ in methanol using absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy. In this context, an isocratic high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method using a polymer column and a fluorescence detector was also developed that enables the separation of the metal ion complexes from the free ligands and non-complexed Al3+. CIT and OTA showed distinct changes in their absorption and fluorescence properties upon Al3+-coordination, and the fluorescence of CIT was considerably enhanced. Analysis of the photometrically assessed titration of CIT and OTA with Al3+ using the Job plot method revealed 1:2 and 1:1 stoichiometries for the Al3+ complexes of CIT (Al:CIT) and OTA (Al:OTA), respectively. In the case of CIT, only one -diketone moiety participates in Al3+ coordination. These findings can be elegantly exploited for signal amplification and provide the base to reduce the limit of detection for CIT quantification by about an order of magnitude, as revealed by HPLC measurements using a fluorescence detector.
Nanocrystalline basaluminite [Al4OH10(SO4)(H2O)3–5] and Aggregation of the e-Keggin polyoxocation [Al12(AlO4)(OH)24(H2O)12]7+, referred to as Al13, have both been described to form in acid mine Drainage environments. Although the chemical composition is quite similar, their crystalline varieties significantly differ, demonstrating that various types of Al-hydroxysulfates can form under similar conditions and that their respective formation is not fully understood yet. Here, we report the occurrence of nanocrystalline precipitates that form naturally in a small alpine catchment in Switzerland where an acidic mountainous stream (pH 4) is neutralized successively after mixing with several neutral tributaries. The stepwise neutralization in conjunction with the large amount of precipitates provide an ideal setting for obtaining new insights into (i) the structure of naturally forming Al-hydroxysulfates, (ii) their formation mechanism, (iii) their role in controlling the solubility of Al, and (iv) their ability to lower the mobility of As. Synchrotron-based high-energy X-ray diffraction and subsequent pair distribution function analyses demonstrate that these precipitates are structurally identical to basaluminite samples obtained from acid mine drainage sites. In contrast, only minor amounts of tetrahedrally coordinated Al, as present in Al13, were identified by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The precipitates are further characterized by elevated As concentrations up to 600 lg/g, whereas other heavy metals are at background concentrations only. Given the low As concentrations in the stream from which precipitation occurs (<0.03 mg/L), high As concentrations confirm that basaluminite serves as a highly efficient As sink, which is attributed to its high anion-exchange capacity. Chemical analysis of streamwater samples in combination with geochemical modeling show that precipitation occurs instantaneously upon mixing with neutral streams.
Moreover, our data reveal that the precipitation of basaluminite exerts a strong solubility control on dissolved Al concentrations as manifested by the quasi-constant basaluminite ion activity product observed during neutralization from pH 5 to pH 5.9. We hypothesize that in our field system, high fluoride and sulfate concentrations on the order of 100 and 1–2 mg/L,