Determination of epinephrine, norepinephrine, dopamine and L-dopa in pharmaceuticals by a photokinetic method.

A study of the photochemical reaction of the Rose Bengal (RB)-ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid system in the presence of epinephrine, norepinephrine, dopamine and L-dopa is presented. The rate of photoreduction of RB is dramatically retarded by small amounts of these catecholamines, which have an inhibitory effect on the excited state of RB, which is the activator of the process. Optimum conditions for the determination of catecholamines in the range of concentration between 5 x 10(-6) and 1 x 10(-4) mol dm-3 are described. The proposed method has been applied with excellent results to the determination of catecholamines in pharmaceuticals.