Flow‐Injection Chemiluminescence Determination of Catecholamines

Abstract

A new flow‐injection chemiluminescence method is proposed for the determination of catecholamines, including adrenaline, dopamine, and l‐Dopa. The method is based on the chemiluminescence (CL) produced during the oxidation of catecholamines by sodium hypochlorite in an alkaline medium. The CL intensity is greatly increased when 2,7‐dichlorofluoresceine is used as a sensitizer. The calibration graphs are linear in the range of 3–80 µg/mL for adrenaline and l‐Dopa and 3–50 µg/mL for dopamine. The influence of foreign compounds was studied and the method was applied to the determination of catecholamines in pharmaceutical formulations.

Keywords:

• Catecholamines
• Chemiluminescence
• Flow‐injection analysis
• Pharmaceuticals