Determination of reserpine by in situ sensitized photochemical spectrofluorimetry

An in situ photochemical spectrofluorimetic method for the rapid and precise determination of reserpine was proposed. Adding acetone to the reserpine solution in acetic acid medium will speed up the photochemical conversion of reserpine into an intensively fluorescent compound. The determination can be carried out by measuring the fluorescence intensity at a fixed time. The mechanism of the sensitization of acetone was also discussed. The linear concentration range of the calibration graphs was found to be 0-0.91 μg ml−1. The detection limit was 0.40 ng ml−1 reserpine and the relative standard deviation was 0.75% for 0.40 ng ml−1 reserpine (n = 6). The recovery for its application to reserpine injections was 97.3–103%. Through a standard addition recovery test, we obtained a recovery between 91.3 and 100% in urine samples. Interference effects of some common ions in serum and foreign substances coexisting with reserpine in complex reserpine tablets were also tested.