Effect of Ph on the Reaction of Tris(2,2'-Bipyridyl)Ruthenium(III) with Amino-Acids - Implications for Their Detection

by Brune, S. N.; Bobbitt, D. R.

A new technique for the detection of amino-acids is described, which is based on their chemiluminescence reaction with tris(2,2'-bipyridyl)ruthenium(III). The pH-dependence of this reaction has been investigated and found to be the key experimental parameter in application of this reaction as a detection technique. The chemiluminescence emission obtained is maximal at pH values higher than the N-terminal amino group pK(a) of the amino-acid. The background reaction between the ruthenium reagent and hydroxide ion does not occur with the same efficiency as the amino-acid reaction and the optimum signal to noise ratio is obtained at pH 10. A limit of detection of 30 picomole was found for valine and the response was shown to be linear over two orders of magnitude.

Journal
Talanta
Volume
38
Issue
4
Year
1991
Start Page
419-424
URL
https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0039-9140(91)80080-j
ISBN/ISSN
1873-3573; 0039-9140
DOI
10.1016/0039-9140(91)80080-j