Determination of the plant growth regulator beta-naphthoxyacetic acid by micellar-stabilized room temperature...

This paper presents a method for the determination of the plant growth regulator beta-naphthoxyacetic acid (NOA) by micellar-stabilized room temperature phosphorescence with the surfactant Triton X-100 (TX-100) as the micellar medium, thallium nitrate as the heavy atom and sodium sulphite as the oxygen scavenger. A multivariate optimization approach using the blocked cube star design of central composite was carried out. The analytical curve of NOA gives a linear dynamic range of 0.4-3.0 mug ml(-1) and a detection limit of 0.13 mug ml(-1). A recovery of 93.6% was obtained for 1 mug ml(-1) NOA in spiked apple samples.