Determination of folic acid by capillary electrophoresis with chemiluminescence detection

A rapid and simple method is presented for the determination of folic acid (FA) by capillary electrophoresis (CE) with chemiluminescence (CL) detection. This method was based on enhance effect of FA on the CL reaction between luminol and BrO− in alkaline aqueous solution. Optimal separation and determination was obtained with an electrophoretic buffer of 35 mM sodium borate (pH 9.4) containing 0.8 mM luminol, and an oxidizer solution of 1.6 mM NaBrO in 100 mM NaCO3 buffer solution (pH 12.0). Under the optimal conditions, the determination of FA was achieved in less than 20 min, and the detection limit was 2.0 × 10−8 M (S/N = 3). The relative standard deviations (RSDs) on peak area and migration time were in the 1.5 and 1.1%, respectively. The present CE–CL method was applied to the determination of FA in commercial pharmaceutical tablets, apple juices and human urine.