Electrochemical behavior of atomoxetine and its voltammetric determination in capsules

In this work, the electrochemical behavior and the analytical application of atomoxetine, a selective noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor, are studied. Atomoxetine, studied by differential pulse voltammetry and cyclic voltammetry on a glassy carbon electrode, exhibited an anodic response in aqueous media with pH between 1.5 and 7. In non-aqueous medium (acetonitrile), the drug exhibited two irreversible oxidation peaks that are diffusion controlled. From chronocoulometric studies in acetonitrile, it was determined that each oxidation signal involves two and four electrons, respectively. For analytical purposes, a differential pulse voltammetry technique in 0.1 mol L-1 perchloric acid was selected, which exhibited adequate figures of merit. The percent recovery was 96.6 +/- 1.2 and the detection and quantitation limits were 6.9 x 10(-5) and 1.0 x 10(-4) mol L-1, respectively. Also, results indicate that excipients do not interfere with the oxidation signal of atomoxetine, which leads to the conclusion that the developed method is satisfactorily selective for atomoxetine quantification in pharmaceuticals with no prior separation or extraction necessary. Finally, the proposed voltammetric method was successfully applied to both the assay and the uniformity content of atomoxetine in capsules. For comparison, high-performance liquid chromatography analysis was also performed

Voltammetric study and direct analytical determination of the antiparkinson drug benserazide

For the first time, a simple differential pulse voltammetry methodology for direct determination of benserazide in presence of levodopa in tablets was developed without any redox mediator, modified electrodes, or the aplication of mathematic deconvolution of signals. Benserazide was studied by differential pulse voltammetry using glassy carbon electrode in aqueous media. The drug exhibited a main well-defined oxidation signal in a broad pH range (2-10), and two poorly resolved signals at higher potentials. We have found that levodopa does not interfere on the electrochemical response of benserazide at pH 6.0. Thus, at this pH value, the developed analytical method exhibited adequate repeatability and reproducibility (RSD<2%), recoveries >98.5%, which permitted its successful application to both the assay and the uniformity content of benserazide. Also, hydrolytic degradation studies of benserazide were carried out by differential pulse voltammetry