Micellar Liquid Chromatographic Determination of Aluminum Using 8-hydroxyquinoline-5-sulphonic Acid

A micellar liquid-chromatographic method is proposed for determination of Al(III) as the 8-hydroxyquinoline-5-sulfonic acid derivative, with spectrofluorimetric detection. Cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, a cationic surfactant (0.05 M), was used as mobile phase. The metal chelate was detected at λEx 410 and λEm 510 nm. Response to aluminum is selective in the presence of other metal ions. The method eliminates the need for addition of reagent or organic modifier to the mobile phase, as is normal in RP HPLC. Under optimized conditions the linear range was 20–200 μg L Al(III), the limit of detection 10 μg L, and the limit of quantification 40 μg L. The method was used to determine aluminum in a variety of water samples.