Preconcentration of the lipid-lowering drug lovastatin at a hanging mercury drop electrode surface

Adsorption and reduction of lovastatin were investigated by cyclic and square-wave voltammetry on a hanging mercury drop electrode in aqueous solutions over a wide pH range (4–9). The electroreduction of lovastatin proceeds via a surface EC mechanism in the whole pH range investigated. Using adsorptive stripping voltammetry, the drug yielded a well-defined voltammetric response in Britton-Robinson buffer, pH 6 at −1.49 V which can be used to determine trace amount of lovastatin. The linear concentration range of application was 1.0 × 10⁻⁸–1.0 × 10⁻⁷ M by using an accumulation potential of −0.5 V and a 90 s pre-concentration time. The method has been successfully applied for the determination of lovastatin in a spiked human serum sample.