Voltammetric behaviour of bromhexine and its determination in pharmaceuticals

A complete electrochemical study and a novel electroanalytical procedure for bromhexine quantitation are described. Bromhexine in methanol/0.1 mol L⁻¹ Britton–Robinson buffer solution (2.5/97.5) shows an anodic response on glassy carbon electrode between pH 2 and 7.5. By DPV and CV, both peak potential and current peak values were pH-dependent in all the pH range studied. A break at pH 5.5 in E_P versus pH plot revealing a protonation–deprotonation (pK_a) equilibrium of bromhexine was observed. Spectrophotometrically, an apparent pK_a value of 4.3 was also determined.

An electrodic mechanism involving the oxidation of bromhexine via two-electrons and two-protons was proposed. Controlled potential electrolysis followed by HPLC–UV and GC–MS permitted the identification of three oxidation products: N-methylcyclohexanamine, 2-amino-3,5-dibromobenzaldehyde and 2,4,8,10-tetrabromo dibenzo[b,f][1,5] diazocine.

DPV at pH 2 was selected as optimal pH for analytical purposes. Repeatability, reproducibility and selectivity parameters were adequate to quantify bromhexine in pharmaceutical forms. The recovery was 94.50 ± 2.03% and the detection and quantitation limits were 1.4 × 10⁻⁵ and 1.6 × 10⁻⁵ mol L⁻¹, respectively. Furthermore, the DPV method was applied successfully to individual tablet assay in order to verify the uniformity content of bromhexine. No special treatment of sample were required due to excipients do not interfered with the analytical signal. Finally the method was not time-consuming and less expensive than the HPLC one.     

Identification of Earth Pigments by Applying Hierarchical Cluster Analysis to Solid State Voltammetry. Application to Severely Damaged Frescoes

Multivariate chemometric methods are applied for identifying earth pigments from square‐wave voltammetric measurements performed at pigment‐modified paraffin‐impregnated graphite electrodes allowing for a separation between hematite‐based earths, French ochres, Spanish ochres, siennas, umbers and green earths. This methodology is applied to the identification of the pigments in samples from the ceiling frescoes of Antonio Palomino (dated 1707) in the vaulted nave of the Sant Joan del Mercat church in Valencia (Spain). These frescoes suffered considerable damage by fire during the Spanish Civil War in 1936, resulting in severe chemical and chromatic alterations. Electrochemical data, supported by scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive X‐ray microanalysis and Raman spectroscopy, indicate that thermal stress induced the transformation of goethite‐based yellow ochres into hematite and magnetite.     

Potentiodynamic and cyclic voltammetric behaviour of a lead electrode in NaOH solution

Summary The electrochemical behaviour of lead in NaOH solution was studied by potentiodynamic and cyclic voltammetric techniques in combination with X-ray diffraction analysis. The active dissolution of lead involves a small shoulderA1 followed by a peakA1 prior to a passive region. The shoulderA1 is assigned to the electroformation of a Pb(OH)₂ film, whereas peakA1 is due to the formation of PbO. Beyond the passive region, the current density increases again, forming a small shoulderA2 and a peakA2 prior to the oxygen evolution potential. The shoulderA2 and the peakA2 are correlated to the electrooxidation of PbO to Pb₃O₄ and PbO₂, respectively. The intensity of the anodic peaks increases with increasing alkali concentration, temperature and scan rate. In cyclic voltammetry, the reverse scan shows two cathodic peaksC1 andC2 which are correlated to the electroreduction of PbO and PbO₂ respectively, to Pb.

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Potentiodynamisches und cyclovoltammetrisches Verhalten einer Bleielektrode in NaOH-Lösung

Zusammenfassung Das elektrochemische Verhalten von Blei in NaOH wurde mittels potentiodynamischer und cyclovoltammetrischer Techniken unter Zuhilfenahme der Röntgenbeugungsanalyse untersucht. Die aktive Auflösung von Blei verläuft über eine SchulterA1, die von einem einer passiven Region vorgelagerten PeakA1 gefolgt wird. Die SchulterA1 wird der elektrochemischen Bildung eines Pb(OH)₂-Films, der PeakA1 der Bildung von PbO zugeschrieben. Jenseits der passiven Region steigt die Stromdichte wieder an, und vor Erreichen des Sauerstoffpotentials treten eine kleine SchulterA2 und ein PeakA2 auf, die mit der Elektrooxidation von PbO zu Pb₃O₄ und PbO₂ korrelieren. Analog dazu beobachtet man in der cyclischen Voltammetrie zwei kathodische PeaksC1 undC2, die der Elektroreduktion von PbO und PbO₂ zu Pb entsprechen. Die Intensität der anodischen Peaks steigt mit steigender Alkalikonzentration, Temperatur und Scangeschwindigkeit.

     

Simultaneous determination of mercury and arsenic by anodic stripping voltammetry

An electrochemical method for the simultaneous determinations of Hg^II concentration and total As^III and As^V concentration has been developed. The method does not require the additional preliminary step of the chemical reduction of As^V to As^III, or oxidation of As^III to As^V before stripping analysis takes place. Also, the method for the simultaneous determination of Hg^II concentration and As^III concentration is described. Measurements were performed in 0.1 M HCl using a gold-plated graphite electrode as sensor. Detection limits for both methods are below 0.4 ppb. Relative standard deviation did not exceed 15%. The possible interference by other trace metals was investigated. Analyses of natural water and industrial solutions were made using proposed methods and AAS. The t-test demonstrates that there was no significant difference between the results obtained with these methods. Proposed methods decrease the time of analysis because concentrations of the Hg^II and arsenic ions were measured simultaneously. Also, the removal of the additional step of chemical reduction of As^V to As^III or oxidation of As^III to As^V decreases analysis time, and also reduces the chance of contamination due to the use of additional reagents.     

Detecting DNA Damage with a Silver Solid Amalgam Electrode

Mercury electrodes modified with supercoiled (sc) DNA have been used as highly sensitive tools for the detection of DNA strand breaks or as sensors for DNA cleaving substances. In this paper we show that silver solid amalgam electrode (AgSAE), in connection with alternating current voltammetry, provides similar information about DNA damage as the hanging mercury drop electrode. The AgSAE can be used for the detection of enzymatic or chemical DNA cleavage in solution or at the electrode surface. AgSAE modified with scDNA can be utilized as a sensor for DNA nicking substances.     

Reactions of trialkylalanes with cyclic acetals and orthoformates in CH2Cl2 and ClCH2CH2Cl as solvents

Under mild conditions, trialkylalanes (Et₃Al and Buⁱ ₃Al) in chlorine-containing solvents (CH₂Cl₂ or ClCH₂CH₂Cl) react with cyclic acetals and orthoformates to form glycol monoethers and dialkylacetals, respectively, in high yields. The ¹H NMR spectroscopic data demonstrate that CH₂Cl₂ or ClCH₂CH₂Cl interacts with Buⁱ ₃Al.     

Electrode kinetics of Eu3+/Eu2+ reaction by cyclic voltammetry

The cyclic voltammetric behaviour of Eu³⁺/Eu²⁺ couple at hanging mercury drop electrode (HMDE) has been studied in chloride, bromide, iodide, thiocyanate and EDTA supporting electrolytes. The apparent rate constant and transfer coefficient for these systems have been calculated at various voltage scan rates, without using the data for standard or formal potential. The values have been compared with those obtained by earlier workers through other electrochemical methods.     

pH值对聚四氨基酞菁钴膜电化学和紫外光谱性质的影响

用循环伏安法在导电玻璃(ITO)和玻碳电极(GC)上制备了聚氨基酞菁钴(CoTAPc)修饰电极(CoTAPc/GC)。探讨了pH值对CoTAPc膜的光谱和电化学性质的影响，发现其氧化还原电位与pH值有线性关系，电催化活性也随酸度的增加而增加。CoTAPc膜的紫外吸收带变化与溶液pH值及在溶液中浸泡时间有关。     

Square-wave voltammetric determination of cefoperazone in a bacterial culture,pharmaceutical drug,milk, and urine

Use of square-wave voltammetry (SWV) for determination of cefoperazone (CFPZ) in some buffers, bacterial culture, urine, and milk is described. CFPZ provides a specific voltammetric signal which is affected by pH and solution components. Determination of CFPZ in Britton–Robinson buffer, pH 4.4, is sensitive with a low detection limit (about 0.5 nmol L^–1). In a more complex medium (bacterial 2YT medium, pH 7.2) the detection limit was approximately 1.5 mol L^–1. We provide evidence that SWV is a suitable and quick method for CFPZ determination in a culture of living bacteria without separation of biomass. We have found big differences between methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) in cultivation in the presence of CFPZ, depending on time. When CFPZ is cleaved by penicillinase, a new SWV peak b appears at more positive potentials. This peak rises both with increasing concentration of enzyme and with cleavage time while the original CFPZ peak is simultaneously decreasing. We determined the concentration of CFPZ in the drug Pathozone by the standard addition method and achieved good agreement with the declared value of CFPZ in the drug. With a simple pretreatment procedure it is possible to determine CFPZ in milk; for urine no pretreatment was required. Using SWV we could detect CFPZ concentrations as low as 500 nmol L^–1 in bovine milk and human urine.     

Direct and simultaneous voltammetric analysis of heavy metals in tap water samples at Assiut city: an approach to improve the analysis time for nickel and cobalt determination at mercury film electrode

Tap water samples (Assiut city, lie in the middle north of upper Egypt, approx. 370 km from Cairo, January-March, 2002) were taken from the eight sampling sites of different locations at Assiut city. The samples are analyzed to determine the total content of cadmium, copper, lead and zinc by differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry (DPASV) while nickel and cobalt are determined by a new simple differential pulse adsorptive stripping voltammetry (DPAdSV), using dimethylglyoxime (DMG) as the complexing agent. This method uses sodium sulfite as the supporting electrolyte, which facilitates the removal of oxygen interference without the traditional necessity of purging with inert gas. The effect of various parameters was studied using DPASV (for Cd, Pb, Cu and Zn) and AdSV (for Ni and Co) methods. Subsequently, under the so found experimental conditions, the stability of calibration curves and the detection limits (μg/l) have been determined. The data achieved (for all metals utility) are comparable to those measured by the graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometric (GF-AAS) method. The effects of the interferences between these metal ions have been investigated. Moreover, the effect of storage was discussed and the obtained results were compared favorably with standard official methods. Statistical analysis of the database exhibits applicability and the accuracy of the techniques. The results obtained from the two techniques (Voltammetry and GF-AAS) are in very good agreements in the most tap water samples.