Determination of ascorbic acid in pharmaceutical dosage forms and urine by means of an oscillatory reaction system using the pulse perturbation technique

A simple and reliable method for the determination of ascorbic acid (AA) is proposed and validated. It is based on potentiometric monitoring of the concentration perturbations of an oscillatory reaction system in a stable nonequilibrium stationary state close to the bifurcation point. The response of the Bray–Liebhafsky (BL) oscillatory reaction as a matrix, to the perturbation by different concentrations of AA, is followed by a Pt electrode. The linear relationship between maximal potential shift and the logarithm of the amount of AA is obtained between 0.01 and 1.0 μmol. The sensitivity of the proposed method (as the limit of detection) is 0.009 μmol and the method has excellent sample throughput (30 samples per hour). The procedure was used for AA determination in pharmaceutical formulations and urine. The results are in agreement with those obtained using the official method. Some aspects of the possible mechanism of AA action on the BL oscillating chemical system are discussed.