Sensitive determination of periodate and tartaric acid by stopped-flow chemiluminescence spectrometry

The stopped-flow technique was used for the determination of periodate by measuring the chemiluminescence produced on reaction with luminol, enchanced by manganese(II) and triethanolamine. The method was also applied to the determination of tartaric acid by oxidation with periodate. Under the optimum conditions, responses were linear between 1.0 × 10–6 and 2.5 × 10–4 mol l–1 periodate and from 5.0 × 10–6 to 5.0 × 10–5 mol l–1 tartaric acid, with a relative standard deviation below about 2% in both instances. The proposed method compares favourably with existing alternatives in terms of sensitivity and sampling frequency. It was used for the determination of tartaric acid in pharmaceutical preparations, the results being consistent with the manufacturers' certified contents.