Silver-Induced Enhancement of Thiochrome-Based Peroxide Measurements

Thiamine is presently one of the most attractive substrates used for sensitive fluorometric measurements of peroxides. Thiochrome (TC), a highly fluorescent product, is formed in enzyme-mediated oxidations. It is assumed that H₂O₂ is nearly quantitatively converted to TC. The reaction cannot differentiate H₂O₂ from many other peroxides such as methylhydroperoxide (MHP); to perform differential measurements, H₂O₂ can first be selectively destroyed by a suitable catalyst such as MnO₂. In substituting Ag₂O for MnO₂ to accomplish the selective destruction of H ₂O₂, we achieved the stated objective but were puzzled by a 3-fold increase in the MHP response in the presence of Ag₂O. It was soon discovered that traces of dissolved Ag⁺ and Hg²⁺ can dramatically increase the yield of TC in this reaction from either H ₂O₂ or MHP; the normal yield in fact is only 20%. We present here a reaction scheme and kinetic model that adequately describes this behavior and should provide a path to substantially increase the sensitivity of this important assay method.