Chemiluminometric determination of the pesticide 3-indolyl acetic acid by a flow injection analysis assembly

Abstract A new method is proposed for the chemiluminescent determination of the pesticide 3-indolyl acetic acid by means of an flow injection analysis system. The chemiluminescence emission is obtained by oxidation of the analyte with Ce (IV) in nitric acid and presence of β-cyclodextrine. The continuous-flow method allows the determination of 159 samples h−1 of 3-indolyl acetic acid in an interval of concentrations over the range 0.5–15.0 mg l−1. The limit of detection was 0.1 μg l−1 and the R.S.D. (n, 17) at 2.0 mg l−1 of the pesticide level was 2.7%. The method was applied to water samples.