Determination of curcumin in biologically active supplements and food spices using a mesofluidic platform with fluorescence detection

• First mesofluidic platform with fluorescence detection based on SWIA.
• First flow method for the determination of curcumin.
• A new fluorescence reagent for the determination of curcumin.

A mesofluidic platform (MP) with fluorescence detection based on a stepwise injection analysis (SWIA) was used for the determination of curcumin in biologically active supplements and food spices. The main units of the MP are a mixing chamber (MC) and an optical channel with a quartz capillary inside. The MC provides rapid and complete mixing solutions by gas bubbling. The proposed method is based on the new rapid and sensitive reaction of curcumin with a fluorescence reagent – 4-(2,3,3-trimethyl-3H-indolium-1-yl)butane-1-sulfonate (TIBS). The fluorescence intensity of TIBS is greatly quenched in the presence of curcumin in an alkaline medium. The linear range was from 1 to 10 µM of curcumin, and the limit of detection, calculated as 3σ of a blank test (n=5), was found to be 0.3 µM. The sample throughput was 24 h−1. The proposed method was successfully applied for the determination of curcumin in biologically active supplements and samples of food spices. The obtained data were in good agreement with those measured by a HPLC-UV method.

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