Abstract
Phosphorescence derived from 3, 4-dihydroxyphenyl derivatives such as catecholamines in aqueous basic solution and its use for the assay of epinephrine and norepinephrine in urine by high-preformance liquid chromatography are described. Intense phosphorescence is obtained from epinephrine and norepinephrine when the amines are allowed to stand in 0.02 M sodium hydroxide at room temperature for 20 min. The limits of detection for epinephrine and norepinephrine are 2×10-8 and 4×10-8M (1 and 2 pmol in 50 μl of sample required for the phosphorimetric procedure), respectively. As little as 5 and 10 pmol of epinephrine and norepinephrine, respectively, in 2.0 ml of urine can be assayed.
