Cathodic reduction of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide and other adenine-containing compounds in acidic media

Both nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD⁺) and acid-hydrated NADH, as well as adenine, adenosine, adenosine mono-, di-, and tri-phosphate and adenosine diphosphoribose, undergo four-electron reductions of the protonated adenine ring in acidic media. The values of αn_a (transfer coefficient times the number of electrons involved in the rate-determining step), n (total number of electron transferred), and p (number of protons involved in the rate-determining step) agree well with values previously reported for adenine. Cathodic stripping voltammetry of an adsorbed film can be applied to these compounds. Rapid scan rates are required to eliminate the slow desorption step at ?1.1 V vs. SCE for some of these compounds. Hydration of the nicotinamide ring of NADH appears to inhibit this desorption step, but does not appear to be related directly to the electroactivity of the hydration product.