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The phenomenon of chemiluminescence allows the development of simple analytical procedures using low cost instrumentation which can be easily controlled by computers. The sensitivity of the methods is excellent, and selectivity is improved by high-performance liquid chromatographic separation. A broad area of chemiluminometric applications is drug analysis, which is reviewed in this paper.

A method is proposed for the determination of 0.0500-1.00 microgram ml-1 of epinephrine and L-dopa and 0.100-1.00 micrograms ml-1 of norepinephrine and dopamine by their chemiluminogenic oxidation with potassium permanganate in acidic medium, in the presence of formaldehyde, which greatly improves the sensitivity. Flow injection allows the measurement of 80 solutions per hour. The method was also optimized for a continuous-flow system. Comparative results from numerous organic compounds proved the necessity for electron-donating groups on the benzene ring for sensitive chemiluminescent characteristics.