ABSTRACT
A series of detectors, each selective to its various applications, represents the ultimate goal of drug analysis in complex matrices such as biological fluids. This chapter reviews the fundamental concepts of molecular luminescence, the instrumental techniques for measurements, pre- and postcolumn derivatization, and the latest concepts in liquid chromatography (LC) luminescence detection. It also includes chemiluminescence and room-temperature phosphorescence detection in LC. The variety of luminescence schemes and derivatization procedures provides the means for obtaining sensitive and selective detection in LC. Derivatization techniques in liquid chromatography receive increasing attention because of the potential of enhancing sensitivity and selectivity for molecules that lack native fluorescence or have weak chromophores. Postcolumn reaction detectors present an alternative and often superior solution to the general derivatization problem in liquid chromatography. The chapter also describes three techniques that occur in fluid solution: micelle-stabilized room-temperature phosphorescence, sensitized phosphorescence, and cyclodextrin phosphorescence, since they are all directly compatible with LC detection.
