Simultaneous Determination of Oxalic and Tartaric Acid With Chemiluminescence Detection

A time-resolved chemiluminescence method for the determination of oxalic and tartaric acid was developed. The method is based on the kinetic distinction of the chemiluminescent reaction of Ru(bipy)32+ and oxalic and tartaric acid with CeIV. The oxalic acid system gives the highest chemiluminescence intensity at 2 s, whereas the tartaric acid system gives its most intense chemiluminescence emission at 50 s. Oxalic acid (1.4 × 10–5–1.4 × 10–7 mol l–1) and tartaric acid (1.5 × 10–4–2.9 × 10–6 mol l–1) in synthetic urine were determined simultaneously with RSDs of better than 5% (n = 5). The detection limits of oxalic acid and tartaric acid were 2.7 ×10–8 and 2.7 × 10–6 mol l–1, respectively. The detailed chemiluminecence mechanism for the over-all process is discussed. The kinetic distinction between the oxalic and tartaric acid systems was elucidated.