Use of 4-chloro-7-nitrobenzofurazane as a derivative reagent for the determination of amino acids by cathodic stripping square wave voltammetry in biological fluids.

The rapid and simple reaction of 4-chloro-7-nitrobenzofurazane with amino acids allows the determination of amino acids in urine using cathodic stripping square wave voltammetry. The obtained compounds are adsorbed on a hanging mercury drop electrode for determination by voltammetric methods using phosphate buffer at pH 2.0 as supporting electrolyte. The proposed method allows determination with an error of 5.68%. A limit of detection (3sigma) of 3.64 nM (0.766 ng ml(-1)) and a limit of determination (10sigma) of 12.12 nM (2.55 ng ml(-1)) are obtained for arginine determination. The proposed method has been applied to the determination of amino acids in urine.