Flow-injection fluorimetric determination of menadione using on-line photo-reduction in micellar media

A very sensitive fluorimetric method for the determination of menadione using a flow injection system is proposed. The method is based on the on-line reduction of menadione in dodecylsulphate micelles upon irradiation with UV light. The strong fluorescence of the reduced menadione in micellar medium is measured at 410 nm with excitation at 340 nm. The method shows a linear range between 2.42 and 245 ng ml⁻¹ and a limit of detection of 0.18 ng ml⁻¹. The sample throughput was 90 injections per hour. The applicability of the assay was demonstrated by analysing this vitamin in commercial pharmaceutical preparations.