Simple chemiluminescence determination of ketotifen using tris(1,10 phenanthroline)ruthenium(II)‐ Ce(IV) system

A new method using chemiluminescence (CL) detection has been developed for the simple determination of ketotifen fumarate (KF). The method is based on the catalytic effect of KF in the CL reaction of tris(1,10 phenanthroline)ruthenium(II), Ru(phen)₃²⁺, with Ce(IV) in sulfuric acid medium. The CL response was detected using a lab‐made chemiluminometer. Effects of chemical variables were investigated and under optimum conditions, the CL intensity was proportional to the concentration of the drug over the range 0.34‐34.00 µg mL^?1 KF. The limit of detection (S/N=3) was 0.09 µg mL^?1. Effects of common ingredients were investigated and the method was applied successfully for determining KF in pharmaceutical formulations and human plasma. The percent of relative standard deviation (n=11) at level of 3.4 µg mL^?1 of KF was 4.6% and the minimum sampling rate was 70 samples per hour. The possible CL mechanism is proposed based on the kinetic characteristic of the CL reaction, CL spectrum, UV‐Vis and phosphorescence spectra. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.