DETERMINATION OF RESERPINE BY IN-SITU SENSITIZED PHOTOCHEMICAL SPECTROFLUOROMETRY

An in situ photochemical spectrofluorimetic method for the rapid and p recise determination of reserpine was proposed. Adding acetone to the reserpine solution in acetic acid medium will speed up the photochemic al conversion of reserpine into an intensively fluorescent compound. T he determination can be carried out by measuring the fluorescence inte nsity at a fixed time. The mechanism of the sensitization of acetone w as also discussed. The linear concentration range of the calibration g raphs was found to be 0-0.91 mu g ml(-1). The detection limit was 0.40 ng ml(-1) reserpine and the relative standard deviation was 0.75% for 0.40 ng ml(-1) reserpine (n = 6). The recovery for its application to reserpine injections was 97.3-103%. Through a standard addition recov ery test, we obtained a recovery between 91.3 and 100% in urine sample s. Interference effects of some common ions in serum and foreign subst ances coexisting with reserpine in complex reserpine tablets were also tested.