We developed a flow injection analysis (FIA) method based on tris(2,2'-bipyridine)ruthenium(III) [Ru(bpy)3 3+] electrogenerated chemiluminescence for assessment of antioxidant property. The hydroxyl radical (∙OH) were generated by H2O photolysis using an ultraviolet/H2O photoreactor. The reactor comprised a polytetrafluoroethylene tube, a quartz container, and a low-pressure mercury lamp that predominantly emitted radiation at around 185 nm. When the hydroxyl radical and Ru(bpy)3 3+ were in contact, chemiluminescence was generated as background emission. The background emission decreased when antioxidant samples were injected to the system. The antioxidant property of the naturally occurring antioxidants tested are listed herein, starting with the highest: gallic acid>ascorbic acid>quercetin. Moreover, our method allowed a sample throughput of approximately 100 samples/h. The proposed high throughput method can be used to assess the antioxidant property of the naturally occurring antioxidants.
Keywords: antioxidant property; electrogenerated chemiluminescence; flow injection analysis; hydroxyl radical; tris(2,2′-bipyridine)ruthenium(III).