Determination of vitamin B12 in pharmaceutical preparations by a highly sensitive fluorimetric method

A fluorimetric method for the determination of vitamin B₁₂ has been developed. The fluorescence emission was measured at λ_ex/λ_em275/305 nm in phosphate buffer solution (pH 7.0), and the experimental variables and possible interference were studied. The linear calibration range was 1.000 ng/mL to 100.0 ng/mL with a correlation coefficient of 0.9994 and a detection limit of 0.1 ng/mL. The method is rapid, simple and highly sensitive. It was used to determine vitamin B₁₂ in pharmaceutical preparations. The recovery was 96%–98% and the relative standard deviation was in the range of 1.8%–2.7%. The results agreed with those obtained by spectrophotometry. Received: 17 July 2000 / Revised: 4 September 2000 / Accepted: 7 September 2000