SPECTROPHOTOMETRIC SIMULTANEOUS DETERMINATION OF CREATININE AND CREATINE BY FLOW-INJECTION WITH REAGENT INJECTION

The reactions of creatinine with picric acid and of creatine with 1-naphthol and biacetyl, both in an alkaline medium, have been used to develop a flow injection method for the simultaneous determination of creatinine and creatine, respectively. The sample containing both analytes is continuously merged with a picrate stream and mixed through the reactors; the coloured stream passes through a flow cell in a spectrophotometer set at 520 nm, recording a continuous signal proportional to the creatinine concentration. The mixture of the reagents 1-naphthol and biacetyl is inserted into the stream by use of the injection valve, which results in a peak (superimposed on the continuous signal), proportional to the creatine concentration. Linear calibration graphs for both analytes were obtained up to 30 mg l(-1) with relative standard deviations <2%, and a sampling rate of 42 measurements h(-1). The method was applied to the determination of creatinine and creatine in broth cube samples.