Flow-injection chemiluminescence determination of meloxicam by oxidation with N-bromosuccinimide

A rapid and sensitive flow-injection chemiluminescence method is described for the determination of meloxicam based on its reaction with N-bromosuccinimide (NBS) in alkaline medium. Under the optimum conditions, the proposed method allows the measurement of meloxicam over the range of 2.2 × 10 ^-7 to 2.8 × 10^-5 mol/l with a detection limit of 7.7 × 10^-8 mol/l. The relative standard deviation for 11 parallel measurements of 2.8 × 10^-6 mol/l meloxicam is 2.14%. The method has been applied satisfactorily to the determination of meloxicam in pharmaceutical preparations. The results agree well with those obtained by spectrophotometry. The mechanism of the chemiluminescence reaction is briefly explained with spectroscopic evidence.