The Quantitative Detection of Phenylephrine in Pharmaceutical Preparations and Spiked Human Urine by Voltammetry

Abstract

A voltammetric method was used for the quantitative detection of phenylephrine in pharmaceutical preparations and spiked human urine. The electrochemical measurements were carried out in various buffer solutions in the pH range from 0.51 to 12.00 on ultra-trace graphite electrode (UTGE) by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) techniques. The dependence of pH on the oxidation peak current and peak potential was investigated. Britton–Robinson buffer (pH 8.02) was selected for analytical purposes. The peak was established to be diffusion controlled nature of electrode. A linear calibration curve for DPV analysis was constructed in the phenylephrine concentration range from 8 × 10^–6 to 1 × 10^–4 M. Limits of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ) were obtained as 2.07 × 10^–7 M and 6.91 × 10^–6 M respectively. The repeatability, accuracy and precision of the developed technique were checked in spiked urine and pharmaceutical preparations.