“…These findings parallel reported data on the activating effect of NTA, EGTA, and 1,10-phenanthroline on the manganese-catalyzed reactions of periodate with malachite green (5-7), triethanolamine (10), and hypophosphite (4). These facts point to the independence of ligand modification from the indicator reaction, and suggest that this modification operates via a true metal complex catalysis by complexation of, probably, manganese(III) (6,12,13). NTA was chosen as activator for the determination of manganese, because it increased the sensitivity and the detectability of the method to a larger extent than the other tested compounds and because of its lower cost.…”