ABSTRACT
The chemiluminescent reaction, in alkaline solution, of lucigenin with the reducing sugars sorbose, fructose, lactose, glucose, xylose, galactose, arabinose and mannose has been studied. There is a linear relationship (correlation coefficient = 0.996) between the emission intensity and the second-order rate constant for the alkaline oxidation of these sugars. The emission intensity is linearly related to the sugar concentration; at high sugar concentrations (5mM) it is independent of the lucigenin concentration, but at low concentrations (<0.05mM) is linearly related to the lucigenin concentration. These facts support the view that the rate-limiting step is the tautomerization of the sugars to the 1,2-enediol form; the enediol then undergoes reaction with lucigenin.
