Flow injection determination of vitamin K3 by a photoinduced chemiluminescent reaction.

The determination of vitamin K3 using the coupling between a photochemical reaction and a chemiluminescent reaction in a flow system is described. The method is based on the photooxidation of ethanol sensitized by vitamin K3 to yield hydrogen peroxide, which is monitored through the chemiluminescent reaction with luminol catalysed by hematin. The new approach allows the determination of vitamin K3 in a wide concentration range (1 x 10(-7)-5 x 10(-4) mol l-1) with a throughput of 30 samples h-1. The applicability of the method was demonstrated by the determination of vitamin K3 in pharmaceutical preparations.