Internal standard in flow injection analysis with amperometric detection

In this work, we describe for the first time the use of the internal standard method in flow injection analysis (FIA) with amperometric detection. The method is based on the application of sequential potential pulses to the working electrode in an electrochemical flow cell. The sequence of potential pulses is selected in such a way that the analyte and internal standard compound are detected and monitored individually and independently at the same working electrode. This approach compensates for random errors associated with variations of flow rate, injection volume, ionic strength difference between standards and samples, and accidental insertion or formation of air bubbles in the carrier stream. In addition, this method can overcome the major drawback of amperometric detection using solid electrodes, which is gradual electrode passivation. To illustrate the potential of this method, the flow-injection amperometric detection of uric acid using [Fe(CN)₆]^3? as an internal standard (IS) is presented as an example.