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Objective measurement. Construct validity was supported by convergence with other established measures of adherence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ionophore‐based carbonate‐selective sensors have become reliable analytical tools due to their high selectivity and versatility of applications. Nonetheless, successful examples of their implementation in nanoscale devices are yet to be found in the literature. Herein we describe the first attempt to develop carbonate sensors with ionophores using ion‐selective nanoemulsions. Classical chromoionophore‐based sensors were shown to perform poorly upon transfer to the nanoscale. We hypothesize that this is caused by the heightened surface activity of the ion‐ionophore complex. This challenge is overcome by the addition of a positively charged solvatochromic dye X3+ to the aqueous phase instead of the sensing particles. The presence of this dye facilitates transfer of carbonate from the particle surface into the sensor bulk, which is followed by an unexpected change of fluorescence with the emergence of a new peak at longer wavelengths, allowing for a ratiometric signal transduction. We have found that this spectral change originates from dye hyper‐polarization by the charged moiety of carbonate complex with the ionophore, in analogy to earlier work with protamine nanosensors. The dye‐coextraction‐based sensing protocol is shown to be reversible and selective with regard to both anionic and cationic interferences present in the sample and forms the foundation for further mechanistic advances for anion sensing with ionophores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The soluble fraction of atmospheric transition metals is particularly associated with health effects such as reactive oxygen species compared to total metals. However, direct measurements of the soluble fraction are restricted to sampling and detection units in sequence burdened with a compromise between time resolution and system bulkiness. Here, we propose the concept of aerosol-into-liquid capture and detection, which allowed one-step particle capture and detection via the Janus-membrane electrode at the gas–liquid interface, enabling active enrichment and enhanced mass transport of metal ions. The integrated aerodynamic/electrochemical system was capable of capturing airborne particles with a cutoff size down to 50 nm and detecting Pb(II) with a limit of detection of 95.7 ng. The proposed concept can pave the way for cost-effective and miniaturized systems, for the capture and detection of airborne soluble metals in air quality monitoring, especially for abrupt air pollution events with high airborne metal concentrations (e.g., wildfires and fireworks). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current methods to monitor nitrate levels in freshwater systems are outdated because they require expensive equipment and manpower. Punctual sampling on the field or at a fixed measuring station is still the accepted monitoring procedure and fails to provide real-time estimation of nitrate levels. Continuous information is of crucial importance to evaluate the health of natural aquatic systems, which can strongly suffer from a nitrogen imbalance. We present here a nitrate-selective potentiometric probe to measure the analyte continuously without requiring maintenance or high-power consumption. Owing to a simple design where the sensors are located directly in contact with the sample, the need for constant pump usage is eliminated, requiring just 0.7 mW power per day instead of 184 mW per day and per pump. It is estimated that with this power consumption, the setup can easily run for more than 97 h on four simple Li-ion batteries. A simple in-line one-point calibration step was implemented to allow for drift correction. At the same time, a symmetrical design was used involving a second nitrate probe as a reference electrode placed in the calibrant compartment. This, combined with an in situ calibration step, allows one to quantify nitrate ion concentrations directly, instead of yielding activities. The dependence on ion activity was removed by using the analysed sample spiked with nitrate as the calibrant. This results in essentially the same activity coefficients and additionally reduces junction potentials to a fraction of a millivolt. In addition, a symmetrical reference element served to compensate for fluctuations caused by environmental factors (temperature, convection, etc.) to achieve improved stability and signal reproducibility compared to a traditional Ag/AgCl based reference electrode. The final prototype was deployed in the Arve River in Geneva for 75 h without requiring any intervention. The nitrate levels measured using the symmetrical reference element over this period were estimated at 44.0 ± 3.5 M and agreed well with the values obtained with ion chromatography (38.2 ± 2.1 μM) used as the reference method. Thanks to a modular sensing head the potentiometric sensors can be easily exchanged, making it possible to quantify other types of analytes and leading the way to a new monitoring strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrate sensing is an important application for potentiometry in environmental applications. Its recognition is by ion‐exchangers whose selectivity is governed by the lipophilicity of the ions in solution. Yet, considerable research efforts have been dedicated to the development of such ionophores and some have already been commercialized. This work examines two commercially available nitrate ionophores, nitrate ionophores V and VI, and compares their performance with widely used ion‐exchangers by determining the resulting membrane selectivity and complexation to nitrate. Unfortunately, adding a nitrate ionophore to the membrane did not result in improved selectivity. Sandwich membrane experiments indicated that binding interaction is too weak to be measurable, with a logarithmic formation constant of just 1.36±0.14 for ionophore V with nitrate. Ways to improve the reporting of relevant data are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We aimed to monitor in situ nickel (Ni(II)) concentrations in aquatic systems in the nanomolar range. To achieve this, we investigated whether an analytical protocol for the direct quantification of cobalt (Co(II)) using adsorptive cathodic sweep voltammetry (Ad-CSV) on antifouling gel-integrated microelectrode arrays (GIME) we recently developed is also suitable for direct Ni(II) quantification. The proposed protocol consists of the reduction of the complex formed between Ni(II) (or Ni(II) and Co(II)) and nioxime adsorbed on the surface of the GIME-sensing element. The GIME enables to (i) avoid fouling, (ii) control the metal complex mass transport and, when interrogated by Ad-CSV, (iii) selectively determine the dynamic (kinetically labile Ni-nioxime) fraction that is potentially bioavailable. The nioxime concentration and pH were optimized. A temperature correction factor was determined. The limit of detection established for 90 s of accumulation time was 0.43 ± 0.06 in freshwater and 0.34 ± 0.02 nM in seawater. The sensor was integrated in a submersible probe in which the nioxime-containing buffer and the sample were mixed automatically. In situ field measurements at high resolution were successfully achieved in Lake Geneva during a diurnal cycle. The determination of the kinetically labile Ni-nioxime fraction allows one to estimate the potential ecotoxicological impact of Ni(II) in Lake Geneva. Additional Ni fractions were measured by ICP-MS and coupled to the in situ Ad-CSV data to determine the temporal Ni(II) speciation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]