Phthalic hydrazides groups

Dialkylamino phthalic acids resulting from the chemiluminescence reaction of 4-dialkylamino-phthalic hydrazides cannot easily form a tris anion because deprotonation of the amino group is impossible. They should therefore not exhibit such a strong decrease in fluorescence efficiency at higher pH values. This can actually be concluded from the pH dependence of the chemiluminescence of the 4-dialkylamino-phthalic hydrazides and related compounds 97>. 

The well-known observation concerning the effect of substituents on the phthalic hydrazide system, that electron-releasing groups increase and electron-withdrawing groups reduce the chemiluminescence quantum yield, is not yet fully understood with respect to its physico-chemical meaning. Three possibilities arise ... 

The unsubstituted phthalic acid hydrazide and several nonaromatic cyclic hydrazides such as maleic acid hydrazide or succinic acid hydrazide are either nonchemiluminescent or show extremely weak CL. However, the 6-amino isomer of luminol, which is called isoluminol, is chemiluminescent to about the same extent as is luminol. Isoluminol has been used in many chemiluminescent studies, and because the amino group is less sterically hindered than that of luminol, it is probably derivatized for chemiluminescent labeling far more often than is luminol (Fig. 3). 

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