Simple, rapid and sensitive spectrofluorimetric determination of diflunisal in serum and urine based on its ternary complex with terbium and EDTA

A very simple, rapid and highly sensitive fluorimetric method for the determination of diflunisal in serum and urine is described. The method is based on the formation of a ternary complex between diflunisal, Tb3+ and EDTA in alkaline aqueous solutions. This complex exhibits very intense terbium ion luminescence with a main emission maximum at 546 nm when excited at 284 nm. Optimum conditions for the complex formation have been investigated. The detection limit for diflunisal is 2.4 μg 1−1, while the range of application is 0.01–6.00 mg 1−1. The method has been successfully applied for the determination of diflunisal in untreated human serum and urine samples. Analytical recoveries from serum and urine samples spiked with diflunisal were in the ranges of 96.8–101.2% and 98.0–102.0%, respectively.