Determination of glutamic acid by an oscillating chemical reaction using the analyte pulse perturbation technique.

An analytical method for the determination of glutamic acid by the sequential perturbation caused by different amounts of glutamic acid on the oscillating chemical system involving the Cu(II)-catalyzed oscillating reaction between hydrogen peroxide and sodium thiocyanate in an alkaline medium is proposed. The method relies on the linear relationship between the changes in the oscillation amplitude of the chemical system and the concentration of glutamic acid. The reaction is implemented in a continuous-flow stirred-tank reactor, and changes in the oscillation amplitude on each perturbation are proportional to the glutamic acid concentration. The use of the analyte pulse perturbation (APP) technique permits sequential determinations on the same oscillating system owing to the expeditiousness with which the steady state is regained after each perturbation. The dynamic range lies between 2.5x10(-6) and 3.2x10(-4) M of glutamic acid, with the regression coefficient is 0.9987. The precision is excellent (less than 0.68% as relative standard deviation (R.S.D.)). Some aspects of the potential mechanism of action of glutamic acid on the oscillating system are discussed.