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The present work describes the trace analysis of Tl(I) in acidic medium (0.05 mol L(-1) nitric acid) by square wave anodic stripping voltammetry (SWASV) at a tin film sensor with novel configuration. This "green" electroanalytical device features on-chip metal film electrodes (a Sn-film working electrode, a Ag-film reference electrode and a Pt-film counter electrode), fabricated by sputtering the respective metals on a silicon chip. The effect of preconcentration time, preconcentration potential and SW stripping parameters on the Tl(I) detection was studied in detail. The limit of detection for Tl(I) was 1.1 μg L(-1), while the % relative standard deviation at the same sensor was 5.2% at the 10 μg L(-1) level. Finally, the sensors were successfully applied to the direct determination of Tl(I) in an acidified certified lake water sample., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The interactions of Tl(I), a well known toxic species, with selected oligonucleotides were examined. The oligonucleotide sequences selected for the investigation were taken from gene hOGG1 responsible for repairing of DNA damage. Cyclic voltammetry was particularly useful, since nitrogen N-7 in guanine can be electrooxidized while its binding with Tl(I) leads to the loss of electroactivity. So, this selected interaction could be quantitatively used in drawing Scatchard's plot and calculating the binding constants and the number of active sites in guanine molecules occupied by one metal ion. Further, we have shown that the presence of Tl(I) leads to a decrease in activity of doxorubicin (DOX), a popular anticancer drug, vs. DNA. The obtained circular dichroism (CD) spectra and the measurements with an electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (EQCM) led to a conclusion that in the presence of monovalent thallium cations the DNA double helix was neither damaged/oxidized nor its conformation changed substantially., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

A simple cloud point extraction method is described for the separation and pre-concentration of thallium from the microwave assisted aqua regia extracts of sediment and coal fly ash samples. The method is based on the formation of extractable species of thallium and its interaction with hydrophobic solubilizing sites of Triton X-114 micelles in the presence of aqua regia and electrolyte NaCl. These interactions of micelles are used for extraction of thallium from a bulk aqueous phase into a small micelles-rich phase. The potential chloride interferences are eliminated effectively, which enabled interference free determination of thallium from aqua regia extracts using continuum source ETAAS. The parameters affecting the extraction process are optimized. Under the optimized conditions, pre-concentration factor and limit of detection are 40 and 0.2 ng g(-1), respectively. The recoveries are in the range of 95-102%. A characteristic mass, 13 pg was obtained. The accuracy of the method is verified by analyzing certified reference materials such as NIST 1633b coal fly ash, NIST 1944 marine sediment and GBW 07312 stream sediments. The results obtained are in good agreement with the certified values and method is also applied to real samples., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

In the present work, a new, simple and efficient method for simultaneous preconcentration of ultra-trace amounts of gold and thallium is developed using an ion pair based-ultrasound assisted emulsification-solidified floating organic drop microextraction procedure before graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry determination. This methodology was used to preconcentrate the ion pairs formed between AuCl(4)(-) and TlCl(4)(-) and [C(23)H(42)]N(+) in a microliter-range volume of 1-undecanol. Several factors affecting the microextraction efficiency, such as HCl volume, type and volume of extraction solvent, sonication time, sample volume, temperature, ionic strength and [C(23)H(42)]NCl volume were investigated and optimized. Under the optimized conditions, the enrichment factor of 441 and 443 and calibration graphs of 2.2-89 and 22.2-667 ng L(-1) for gold and thallium were obtained, respectively. The intra- and inter-day precision of ± 4.4 and ± 4.9% for Au and ± 4.8 and ± 5.4% for Tl were obtained. The detection limit was 0.66 ng L(-1) for Au and 4.67 ng L(-1) for Tl. The results show that the liquid-liquid pretreatment using ion pair forming, is sensitive, rapid, simple and safe method for the simultaneous preconcentration of gold and thallium. The method was successfully applied for determination of gold and thallium in natural water and hair samples., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Besides the dominant species in plants-Tl(I), noticeable amounts of Tl(III) (about 10% of total Tl content) were found in extracts of plants cultivated in the presence of tailing sediments, which are the main source of anthropogenic thallium already present in the environment. It is an important step of gaining knowledge about the detoxification mechanisms developed by Sinapis alba. This plant species is highly tolerant to Tl and it is able to cumulate high amounts of Tl and transport it into the above-ground organs. For more adequate estimation of accumulating abilities of S. alba, the elements' bioavailability was taken into consideration. The obtained bioconcentration factors of Cd (AF=0.6) and Zn (AF=1-2) were significantly lower than of Tl (AF=100-200). The biomass production was similar to the biomass of control cultivation. The results were based on ICP MS measurements of total elements' content and HPLC ICP MS for speciation analysis. The quality of obtained results was evaluated based on the intermethod comparison with voltammetry as a reference method. Comparison of data obtained using ICP MS and electrochemical methods (after a proper chemical treatment) was also used for indication of Tl(III) presence and for proving that Tl(I) was not transferred into Tl(III) during analytical procedures., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)