Title: Relationship between pH and chemiluminescence of Luminol

Author: Rolando Efraín Hernández Ramírez

Introduction
In 2018, the University of Brunei Darussalam published an article in the scientific
publication ELSEVIER, where the results obtained from the studies carried out for the
identification of meat species using the DNA-luminol interaction and their slow surface
diffusion are presented of the biochip. This article presents a detailed analysis of the
results obtained to verify the authenticity of food ingredients, including those adulterated
with pigs and/or their derivatives, using the simple, sensitive and rapid
electrochemiluminescence technique based on luminol.
Development
In the study of the effectiveness of chemiluminescence produced by Luminol in detecting
DNA, the relationship between the luminescence produced by these compounds and the
pH of the medium was analyzed, representing the above in the following graph where the
different intensities of Luminescence produced by luminol Vs different pH values.

The graph shows the

luminescence intensity emitted by luminol in the absence of salmon DNA (a) and the
presence of salmon DNA (b), at different pH values. Between pH values of 3.5 and 6.5, the
luminescence intensity remained constant at an approximate value of 500 a.u for samples
that did not contain DNA, however for samples that did contain DNA, there was a slight
decrease from pH 4.5. For the sample containing no DNA, the luminescence intensity
increased sharply from a pH value of 7.5, this was an increase to a value of 2000 a.u
compared to the sample containing DNA, in which the sharp increase occurred at a much
higher pH value (9.5). The maximum luminescence intensity value for the samples that
contain DNA and those that do not, was produced at a pH value of 10.5, with 10,000 a.u
for the sample that did not contain DNA and 6000 a.u for the one that did contain it.
Conclusion
The graph indicates that luminol increases its ability to emit light at alkaline pH (pH9.5)
due to the stability of the molecule formed at this specific pH. On the other hand, it was
observed that the light emission by luminol was lower in the presence of salmon DNA
compared to a sample of reactants that did not contain DNA.
References
Azam, Nura Fazira Noor, Sharmili Roy, Syazana Abdullah Lim, and Minhaz Uddin Ahmed.
"Meat Species Identification Using DNA-luminol Interaction and Their Slow Diffusion onto
the Biochip Surface." Food Chemistry 248 (2018): 29-36. Web: https://www-sciencedirect-
com.e revistas.ugto.mx/science/article/pii/S0308814617320083?via%3Dihub