POTENTIAL OF THE CONTINUOUS ADDITION OF REAGENT TECHNIQUE FOR CHEMILUMINESCENT REACTION-RATE DETERMINATIONS

The chemiluminescent (CL) reaction between luminol and hydrogen peroxide in the presence of copper(II) was used to assess the potential of the continuous addition of reagent (CAR) technique for CL determinations. This approach allows this type of reaction to be studied in terms of reaction rate, so maximum reaction-rate measurements can be compared with classical peak height measurements. The reaction-rate method provided better analytical features in the CL determination of copper(II): dynamic range, 1-700 ng ml(-1); precision (R.S.D.), ca. 3%; sample throughput, 48 samples h(-1). In addition, the CAR technique facilitates thorough, reproducible mixing of sample and reagents, in addition to recording the whole CL response curve and altering the rate of the CL process, which can be monitored with a straightforward data acquisition system.