Effect of iron chelates on luminol chemiluminescence in the presence of xanthine oxidase

Xanthine oxidase, in catalysing the oxidation of hypoxanthine to uric acid, produces hydrogen peroxide. Chemiluminescence is produced by oxidation of luminol by reactive hydroxyl radicals formed from H₂O₂ by Fe-EDTA and similar complexes. The concentrations of the various components in the active reagent are optimized in order to obtain a constant chemiluminescent signal of high intensity. The effect of chelate structure on chemiluminescence generation is studied, and a structure-activity relationship is deduced. The detection limit for xanthine oxidase is 5 pg.