COMPARISON OF FLUOROMETRIC AND BLUE NUMBER METHODS FOR THE DETERMINATION OF ALPHA-AMINO NITROGEN IN ALUMINUM SULFATE FILTRATES FROM SUGAR-BEET

In this study the results obtained by application of a fluorimetric me thod for;he determination of the alpha-amino nitrogen content in sugar belt from filtrates clarified with aluminium sulfate were analyzed. A comparison was made between the usually applied ''blue number'' metho d (Stanek-Pavlas), modified by Kubadinow and Wieninger, and the fluori metric method using the OPT reagent introduced by Birba and Georgi. Fo r calibrations L-(+)glutamine, L-(-)-asparagine and gamma-aminobutyric acid were tested. A statistically very significant correlation betwee n the two methods for cr-amino nitrogen was found. For the OPT reagent preparation, berate buffer made in laboratory can be used as a substi tute for the buffer made by a commercial manufacturer. The results wer e more reliable if the calibration solutions and the filtrates, before measurements, are diluted in a ratio of 1:50.