Spectrofluorimetric determination of 3-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid by use of its ternary complex with zirconium (IV) and beta-cyclodextrin: application to determination in river water.

A spectrofluorimetric method has been developed for the determination of 3-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid (3H2NA) by formation of a ternary complex with zirconium (IV) and beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CD). It has been observed that the fluorescence intensity of 3H2NA is greatly enhanced when the ternary complex is formed and is accompanied with shifts in the excitation and emission wavelengths. The conditions for the formation of the ternary complex have been optimized and the stoichiometry has been calculated, resulting a 1:2:1 complex (3H2NA:Zr: beta-CD). The linear range was 20-2000 ng mL(-1) and the detection and quantification limits calculated were 17 and 58 ng mL(-1), respectively. The proposed method was applied to the determination of 3H2NA in river water. To eliminate interferences an off-line solid phase extraction (SPE) procedure using C18 cartridges was used. The extraction procedure was optimized and good recoveries were obtained (around 100%) with relative standard deviations (RSDs) of less than 5%.