Fluorescence optosensing implemented with sequential injection analysis: a novel strategy for the determination of labetalol

The coupling of sequential injection analysis and optosensing has been developed for the first time. It has been applied to the determination of labetalol in both pharmaceuticals and urine samples, with the analytical signal (native fluorescence) being monitored directly on sensing zone microbeads. The solid support used was the nonionic silica gel C18, using 20% methanol-water (v:v) as a carrier. By using a 1.5-ml sample volume, we achieved a detection limit of 3.3 ng ml-1. This sensitivity allowed the determination of the compound in urine samples. A recovery study was carried out at the labetalol levels usually found in urine after pharmaceuticals administration, and recovery percentages close to 100% were obtained. The relative standard deviation was 3.4% for 100 ng ml-1 labetalol. No pretreatment was needed for urine samples, only an appropriate dilution, therefore minimizing the time required per sample analysis. In addition, the determination of the analyte was also carried out in one pharmaceutical, with a satisfactory result being obtained.