Flow injection fluorimetric determination of thiamine and copper based on the formation of thiochrome

The reaction, involving the oxidation of thiamine by copper(II) in basic solutions to fluorescent thiochrome, has been adapted to the determination of thiamine by flow-injection analysis. Linear calibration graphs are obtained between 0.30 and 6.02 mug/ml with a sampling rate of 50 samples/hr and a relative standard deviation of 0.53%. This reaction has also been adapted to the determination of copper(II) over the range 0.5-5.0 mug/ml. The applicability of both methods for determination of thiamine and copper is demonstrated by investigating the effect of potential interferences and by the analysis of real samples (pharmaceuticals for thiamine and ores and alloys for copper).