New water-soluble hydrogen donors for the enzymatic spectrophotometric determination of hydrogen peroxide

Eight N -alkyl-N-V-sulphopropylaniline derivatives have been synthesized and assessed as water-soluble hydrogen donors for the spectrophotometric determination of hydrogen peroxide in the presence of peroxidase. The sodium salts of N-ethyl-N-sulphopropylaniline (ALPS), N-ethyl-N-sulphopropyl-m-toluidine (TOPS) and N -ethyl-N-sulphopropyl-m-anisidine (ADPS) are recommended. They have excellent water solubilities, and the optimum pH range for oxidative condensation with 4-aminoantipyrine in the presence of hydrogen peroxide and peroxidase is 5.5–9.5. The absorbances of the resulting chromogens are 2–3 times higher than that achieved with phenol. The molar absorptivities of the chromogens with 4-aminoantipyrine are 41300 (ALPS, λ_max 561 nm), 37400 (TOPS, λ_max 550 nm) and 27900 (ADPS, λ_max 540 nm). Calibration graphs for the determination of hydrogen peroxide in the presence of a control serum are linear for 7–40 × 10^-6 mol H₂O₂ l^-1.