CHEMILUMINESCENT DETERMINATION OF 6-MERCAPTOPURINE IN PHARMACEUTICAL PREPARATION

A new chemiluminescence method is described for the determination of 6 -mercaptopurine. In the presence of tris(2,2'-bipyridine)ruthenium(II) , 6-mercaptopurine (6MP) and hydrogen peroxide, upon the addition of h ydroxide ion, resulted in intense light emission. The emission intensi ty is greatly enhanced by the presence of Tween-20. The linear range a nd detection limit of 6MP are 1.4X10(-5)-1.4X10(-8) g/ml and 3X10(-10) g/ml, respectively. The method was evaluated by carrying out an inter ference study with common excipients and other coexisting compounds, b y a recovery study and by the analysis of commercial formulation. A sa tisfactory result was obtained.