Voltammetric Determination of Genotoxic Nitro Derivatives of Fluorene and 9-Fluorenone Using a Mercury Meniscus Modified Silver Solid Amalgam Electrode

Voltammetric behavior of selected genotoxic nitro compounds (2-nitrofluorene, 2,7-dinitrofluorene, 2-nitro-9-fluorenone and 2,7-dinitro-9-fluorenone) has been investigated using direct current voltammetry (DCV), differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) and adsorptive stripping differential pulse voltammetry (AdSDPV) at a mercury meniscus modified silver solid amalgam electrode (m-AgSAE). The optimum conditions have been found for their determination in a 1:1 mixture of methanol and aqueous Britton - Robinson buffer solution, with the limits of quantification, (LOQ), 2, 0.3, 0.5, and 0.5 mnol (DCV at m-AgSAE) and 0.2, 0.2, 0.4, and 0.2 mu mol L(-1) (DPV at m-AgSAE) for 2-nitrofluorene, 2,7-dinitrofluorene, 2-nitro-9-fluorenone, and 2,7-dinitro-9-fluorenone, respectively. An attempt at increasing the sensitivity using AdSDPV at m-AgSAE was successful only for 2-nitrofluorene (LOQ= 2 nmol L(-1)). Practical applicability of the newly developed methods was verified on direct determination of the studied compounds in drinking and river waters with LOQs similar to 10(-7) mol L(-1) for all the studied compounds.