Determination of traces of purine by cathodic stripping voltammetry at the hanging copper amalgam drop electrode

In the presence of purine, the copper(II)/copper(Hg) couple splits into copper(II)/copper(I) and copper(I)/copper(Hg) couples, which form two well-separated systems of peaks under voltammetric conditions. The copper(I)/purine complex adsorbs on the electrode surfacer and can be deposited on the electrode surface by electroreduction of copper(II) ions at the HMDE or by electro-oxidation of the hanging copper amalgam drop electrode (HCADE). The deposit can be stripped either cathodically or anodically over the pH range 2–9. The cathodic stripping variant at the HCADE, in solution with pH 2, offers the best results, with linear response for the range 5 × 10^?9–1.5 × 10^?7 mol dm^?3 purine after an accumulation time of 3 min. The detection limit found with the HMDE in the presence of copper(II) ions is higher.