A colorimetric method for determination of pyrocatechol and related substances

✍ Scribed by P. Madhusudanan Nair; C.S. Vaidyanathan

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1964
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 323 KB
• Volume: 7
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0003-2697
• DOI: 10.1016/0003-2697(64)90136-8

✦ Synopsis

The formation of colored products by the addition of ammonium molybdate or tungstate to solutions containing pyrocatechol or other catecholic compounds was first reported by Rae (1) and has been successfully employed by Evans (2) for the detection of such substances. When this procedure was used in an attempt to estimate pyrocatechol in enzyme reaction mixtures, it was observed t.hat the presence of trichloroacetic acid caused a considerable increase in the intensity of the color. By making use of this finding and aft#er a detailed study of the factors affecting the color production, a rapid and sensitive method was developed for the estimation of pyrocatechol.

A method for the separation of pyrocatechol from interfering sub-&nnces by circular paper chromatography is also presented.