Analysis of pesticides by chemiluminescence detection in the liquid phase

In this article, we present an update on the applications of chemiluminescence (CL) detection in the liquid phase, for the determination of pesticides, a field in which the number of contributions has increased considerably in the last few years. The inherent characteristics of CL, such as good sensitivity and easy coupling with flow-stream systems, make it suitable for detecting pesticide residues in environmental samples and vegetal foods. The review includes a description of the different CL systems in use, based on direct and indirect CL (e.g., the luminol or peroxyoxalate reactions, the tris (2,2′-bipyridine) ruthenium (III) system and direct oxidations) coupled with flow-injection manifolds or high-performance liquid chromatography systems. We also consider CL-based immunoassays. We provide in-depth description of all the methods, and include relevant data, such as limits of detection, precision and applications to real samples.