High throughput method for the analysis of cetrizine hydrochloride in pharmaceutical formulations and in biological fluids using a tris(2,2′-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II)–peroxydisulphate chemiluminescence system in a two-chip device

A fast, economic and sensitive chemiluminescence (CL) method has been developed for the analysis of cetrizine hydrochloride (CET) in pharmaceutical formulations and in biological fluids. The CL method is based on the oxidation of tris(2,2′-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II) (Ru (bipy)32+) by peroxydisulphate in a two-chip device. Up to 180 samples can be analysed per hour, consuming only minute quantities of reagents. Three instrumental setups were tested to find the most economical, sensitive and high throughput setup. In the first setup, a continuous flow of sample and CL reagents was used, whereas in the second setup, a fixed volume (2 μL) of (Ru (bipy)32+) was introduced into a continuous infusion of peroxydisulphate and the sample. In the third design, a fixed volume of sample (2 μL) was injected while the CL reagents were continuously infused. Compared to the first setup, a 200% signal enhancement was observed in the third setup. Various parameters that influence the CL signal intensity, including pH, flow rates and reagent concentrations, were optimized. A linear response was observed over the range of 50 μg L−1 to 6400 μg L−1 (R2 = 0.9959) with RSD values of 1.1% (n = 15) for 1000 μg L−1. The detection limit was found to be 15 μg L−1 (S/N = 3). The amount of consumed sample was only 2 μL, from which the detected amount of CET was found to be 6.5 × 10−14 mol. This procedure was successfully applied to the analysis of CET in pharmaceutical formulations and biological fluids.