It was found that soluble manganese(IV) could react with more than 30 organic and inorganic compounds to produce strong chemiluminescence signal in the presence of formaldehyde. The reaction conditions were optimized and a new flow injection chemiluminescence method for the determination of four cephalosporin drugs, namely ceftriaxone sodium, cefazolin sodium, cefradine and cefoperazone sodium, was established. The method was applied to the determination of cephalosporins in pharmaceutical preparations. Meanwhile, the chemiluminescence reaction mechanism was also discussed briefly.

Key words: soluble manganese(IV), chemiluminescence, flow injection, cephalosporin