Adsorptive stripping square-wave voltammetric behavior of rofecoxib

Adsorption and reduction of rofecoxib were investigated by cyclic and square-wave voltammetry on a hanging mercury drop electrode in electrolytes of various pH values. The reduction process on hanging mercury drop electrodes gave rise to a single peak within the entire pH range (2.0-11.5). In alkaline solutions, rofecoxib gave a sensitive adsorptive reductive peak; approximately 10 times larger than those obtained by applying a square-wave scan without prior accumulation. Application of the method to the determination of rofecoxib in two pharmaceutical products (Vioxx 12.5 and 25 mg), without sample pretreatment, resulted in acceptable deviation from the stated concentrations.