Simultaneous spectrofluorimetric determination of 1-naphthylacetic acid and 1-naphthalenacetamide in commercial formulations and soil samples.

A spectrofluorimetric method for the simultaneous determination of 1-naphthylacetic acid (NAA) and 1-naphthalenacetamide (NAD) was developed. The sample solution containing both analytes was equilibrated with Sephadex QAE A-25 gel by agitation and then only NAA was fixed on gel, while the remaining NAD stayed in the solution. The relative fluorescence intensity of NAA fixed on Sephadex QAE A-25 gel was measured directly after packing the gel beads in a 1-mm silica cell, using a solid-phase attachment. NAD was determined spectrofluorimetrically in the solution. The wavelengths of excitation and emission chosen for the determination of NAA were 280 and 336 nm, respectively, and for NAD determination 222 and 337 nm, respectively. The applicable concentration range was 12-60 ng ml(-1) for NAA and 6-120 ng ml(-1) for NAD. The detection limit was 3 ng ml(-1) for NAA and 2 ng ml(-1) for NAD. The method was applied satisfactorily to the determination of NAA and NAD in commercial formulations of phytohormones and soil samples.