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Updated: Oct 9, 2026
A Novel Technique for Generating and Observing Chemiluminescence in a Biological Setting
Published on: March 9, 2017
Tris(2,2'-bipyridine)ruthenium(II) electrogenerated chemiluminescence of alkaloid type drugs with solid phase
Q Song1, G M Greenway, T McCreedy
1Department of Chemistry, University of Hull, Hull, UK HU6 7RX.
Abstract:
An electrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL) method for the determination of pethidine, atropine, homatropine and cocaine is described. The optimum conditions were found to be similar for all of these compounds although the ECL emission intensity for cocaine was an order of magnitude lower than for pethidine due to their different chemical structures. Linear calibrations were obtained for all the compounds at pH 10 in borate buffer (0.05 mol l-1) at 1.3 V. Limits of detection of 6.8 x 10(-8), 2.2 x 10(-7), 3.2 x 10(-7) and 6.5 x 10(-7) mol l-1, respectively, were achieved for pethidine, atropine, homatropine and cocaine in standard solutions. Solid-phase extraction was used to separate the drugs from their matrix and the method was applied to the determination of spiked urine samples. The limits of quantitation for pethidine, atropine, homatropine and cocaine in urine were 1.0 x 10(-6), 2.0 x 10(-6), 2.0 x 10(-6) and 4.0 x 10(-6) mol l-1, respectively, with recoveries of between 90 and 110%.
