Chemiluminescence recognition of berberine triggered by biomimetically synthesized silver nanoparticles

A simple, rapid and sensitive method was developed using silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) amplified flow-based peroxyoxalate chemiluminescence system to detect berberine, an anticancer agent. Berberine could dramatically sensitize the emission from oxidation reaction of bis (2,4,6-tricholorophenyl) oxalate (TCPO) with H2O2 catalyzed by silver nanoparticles(Ag-NPs). Under optimized experimental conditions, CL intensity was found to be proportional to the concentration of berberine in the range from 5 × 10−9 to 5 × 10−7 mol L−1 (r > 0.9843, n = 8) was obtained with a detection limit of 8.7 × 10−10 mol L−1. Potential interference by common excipients was also studied. The relative standard deviation for 8 repetitive determinations was less than 3.4% and recoveries of 97.7% and 101.6% were obtained. The Ag nanoparticles were synthesized using Oxalis corniculata plant as green route and characterized using field emission scanning electron microscopy, particle size analyzer and UV-vis Spectroscopy. The method was successfully applied to detect berberine in pharmaceutical formulations.