FLOW-INJECTION ANALYSIS AND LIQUID-CHROMATOGRAPHY - SURFACE-ENHANCED RAMAN-SPECTROMETRY DETECTION BY USING A WINDOWLESS FLOW CELL

A windowless flow cell for detection by surface-enhanced Raman spectro metry (SERS) in two flow systems, flow-injection analysis and liquid c hromatography (LC), has been developed. Several experimental parameter s including flow-rates of silver colloid suspension and mobile phase, photon-counting integration time and bandpass of the spectrometer have been examined. The effects of those parameters on the SERS intensitie s, and the limit of detection values, of five drugs (amiloride, amiphe nazole, 2-mercaptopyridine, pemoline and triamterene) under flowing co nditions were evaluated. The maximum SERS signal was found for now-rat es of 0.075 ml min(-1) and 1.5 ml min(-1) for the mobile phase and sil ver hydrosol, respectively.