Resonance Rayleigh scattering spectra, non-linear scattering spectra of tetracaine hydrochloride–erythrosin system and its analytical application

Abstract

The interaction between erythrosine (ET) and tetracaine hydrochloride (TA) was studied by resonance Rayleigh scattering (RRS), frequency doubling scattering (FDS) and second-order scattering (SOS) combining with absorption spectrum. In a weak acidic medium of Britton–Robinson (BR) buffer solution of pH 4.5, erythrosine reacted with tetracaine hydrochloride to form 1:1 ion-association complex. As a result, the new spectra of RRS, SOS and FDS appeared and their intensities enhanced greatly. The maximum peaks of RRS, SOS and FDS were at 342 nm, 680 nm and 380 nm, respectively. The intensities of the three scattering were directly proportional to the concentration of TA in the range of 0.008–4.2 μg mL −1 for RRS, 0.027–4.2 μg mL −1 for SOS and 0.041–4.2 μg mL −1 for FDS. The methods had very high sensitivities and good selectivities, and the detection limits were 0.003 μg mL −1 for RRS, 0.008 μg mL −1 for SOS and 0.012 μg mL −1 for FDS, respectively. Therefore, a new method was developed to determinate trace amounts of TA. The recovery for the determination of TA in blood serum and urine samples was between 97.0% and 103.8%. In this study, mean polarizability was calculated by AM1 quantum chemistry method. In addition, the reasons for the enhancement of scattering spectra and the energy transfer between absorption, fluorescence and RRS were discussed.