Automated determination of asulam by enhanced chemiluminescence using luminol/peroxidase system

A flow injection system with chemiluminescence detection for the determination of asulam, enhancer of the system luminol–H₂O₂–horseradish peroxidase, is proposed. The method shows a moderate selectivity against other pesticides usually present in formulations of herbicides and in water. The procedure was applied to the determination of asulam in tap water samples and a recovery study was carried out in order to validate the method. The obtained results show acceptable recovery values (between 88.3 and 93.9%). The detection limit for asulam was 0.12 ng/mL. The precision of the method expressed as relative standard deviation was 1.55% (n = 8), at the 19 ng/mL level. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.