Spectrophotometric Determination of Germanium (IV) and Organogermanes with o-Sulfophenylfluorone

A novel spectrophotometric method was established for the determination of germanium (IV) and organogermanes. The method is based on ternary complex formation among germanium(IV), o-sulfophenylfluorone (SPF) and cetyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTAC). In the determination of germanium(IV), the absorbance at 530 nm obeyed Beer's law in the range of 7.0-400 ng mL(-1). The effective molar absorptivity at 530 nm and the relative standard deviation were 1.7 X 10(5) L mol(-1) cm(-1) and 0.96 % (n = 6), respectively. In the deteimination of propagermaniumu as organogermanes, the absorbance at 536 nm obeyed Beer's law in the range of 30-1000 ng mL(-1). The effective molar absorptivity at 536 nm and the relative standard deviation were 1.5 X 10(5) L mol(-1) cm(-1) and 1.13 % (n = 6), respectively. The recovery of germanium (IV) added to human urine was satisfactory being about 98 %. The proposed method requiring no solvent extraction should be useful for a simple and sensitive determinations of germanium(IV) and organogermanes.