Simultaneous determination of orthophosphate and total phosphates (inorganic phosphates plus purine nucleotides) using a bioamperometric flow-injection system made up by a 16-way switching valve

Orthophosphate and total phosphates (inorganic phosphates plus purine nucleotides) can be determined simultaneously in a novel flow-injection system made up by a 16-way switching valve with two sample loops, acid phosphatase (AcP) immobilized reactor and a delay coil needed to separate two peaks corresponding to two sample portions injected simultaneously. An orthophosphate enzyme electrode with a hybrid membrane of trienzyme film and poly(1,2-diaminobenzene) film was used to selectively detect both the endogenous orthophosphate and orthophosphate generated enzymatically into the AcP immobilized reactor, without any interferences from electroactive species, such as ascorbate and urate. Because two sample portions passed through the flow line with different residence time, two peaks were obtained. The first peak corresponded selectively to orthophosphate and the second peak to the total of inorganic phosphates and purine nucleotides. The maximum currents of both peaks were linearly related to the concentration of orthophosphate and total phosphates (as orthophosphate) in the range 5×10−7–8×10−4 M, respectively; 30 samples per hour can be processed with an R.S.D. <2.5%.