Osmium assay in fixatives and stained rat tissues by means of acid and o,o′-dihydroxo substituted monoazo dyes and some flavonoids

New simple, rapid and accurate spectrophotometric techniques for osmium assays in fixatives and stained tissues have been elaborated using acid (Tropaeolin O, Tropaeolin OOO-I, Tropaeolin OOO-II, Orange G), o,o′-dihydroxo substituted azo dyes (Eriochrome Blue Black R, Acid Chrome Dark-Blue, Eriochrome Black T) and flavonoids (morin, quercetin, luteolin). Methods are based on sensitive osmium(IV) reactions with reagents and the formation of stable coloured compounds. Tolerance ratios of main matrix components of histological specimens during Os(IV) spectrophotometric determination with reagents has been established. Results of osmium determination in fixatives and fixed tissues, obtained by means of different reagents, appeared to be sufficiently similar, although effects of matrix components differ. The accuracy of spectrophotometric osmium assay in fixatives with azo dyes has been confirmed with voltammetric investigations. Results obtained from osmium uptake by rat gum tissues are valuable for clinical testing of dental drugs, indicating the influence of drug treatment on the gums.

Masking is the Effective Alternative to the Separation during Osmium Determination by Means of Azo Dyes in Complex Samples

The selectivity of the spectrophotometric methods for determination of microgram quantities of osmium (IV) with acidic monoazo dyes Tropaeolin O (TpO) and Tropaeolin OOO-I (TpOOOI) in the presence of concomitant metals, particularly platinum group, heavy and rare earths (RE) has been studied. The tolerance ratios of interfering elements have been established. The selectivity of the interaction of TpOOOI with osmium (IV) relatively to platinum group elements (PGEs) is much better than TpO. It has been established that the influence of interfering ions can be easily eliminated by means of masking agents viz. EDTA, tartrate, citrate, pyrophosphate and fluoride, and thereby the selectivity of the methods of osmium determination with TpO and TpOOOI has been sufficiently improved. The methods have been approved during the analyses of various model solutions containing ruthenium, platinum, palladium, rhodium and iridium and the masking reagents. Also osmium content has been determined in the intermetallic alloy Nd20Os15Sі65. The standard deviations did not exceed typical values for spectrophotometric methods (RSDs < 5 %). Thus the elaborated methods with various masking agents may be used for direct determination of osmium in complex samples without any preliminary separation of osmium in the form of OsO4 as well as without the extraction of matrices elements.