Flow injection chemiluminometric determination of epinephrine, norepinephrine, dopamine and L-dopa

Abstract

A method is proposed for the determination of 0.0500–1.00 µg ml^–1 of epinephrine and L-dopa and 0.100–1.00 µg ml^–1 of norepinephrine and dopamine by their chemiluminogenic oxidation with potassium permanganate in acidic medium, in the presence of formaldehyde, which greatly improves the sensitivity. Flow injection allows the measurement of 80 solutions per hour. The method was also optimized for a continuous-flow system. Comparative results from numerous organic compounds proved the necessity for electron-donating groups on the benzene ring for sensitive chemiluminescent characteristics.