Determination of quinolone antibiotics in urine by capillary electrophoresis with chemiluminescence detection

A novel and simple method is presented for the determination of norfloxacin, ciprofloxacin, and ofloxacin by capillary electrophoresis with chemiluminescence detection. This method is based on the enhancing effect of quinolones on the chemiluminescence reaction of the Ce(SO₄)₂–Ru(bpy)₃²⁺–HNO₃ system. Three quinolones were successfully separated and detected under optimum conditions. The obtained detection limits were 2.3×10^–7 mol/L, 5.2×10^–8 mol/L, and 7.8×10^–8 mol/L for ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin, and ofloxacin, respectively. The RSD of migration time and peak area were less than 1.8 and 3.8% (n = 5), respectively. The applicability of the proposed method was illustrated in the determination of ofloxacin in eye drops and of norfloxacin in human urine samples, and the monitoring of pharmacokinetics for norfloxacin.