Simple and Rapid Voltammetric Determination of Cephalosporin Drug Cefixime on Boron-Doped Diamond Electrode

Abstract

A boron-doped diamond electrode was used for the first time in sensitive and selective analysis of cefixime, a third-generation cephalosporin drug, using the square-wave voltammetry technique. The effect of the pretreatment procedure on the current response at the electrode was investigated. The best signals were obtained by polishing the electrode with a polishing pad after applying anodic and cathodic electrochemical pretreatment to the electrode. Cefixime gave a well-defined, irreversible and diffusion-controlled oxidation peak in 0.1 mol dm(-3) H2SO4 support electrolyte at + 1.25 V (vs. Ag/AgCl 3 mol dm(-3) NaCl). Under the best instrumental conditions and with the pretreatment procedure, a calibration curve was obtained with linearity between 2.2x10(-6) mol dm(-3) and 1.3x10(-4) mol dm(-3) at 5.9x10(-7) mol dm(-3) detection limit. The effect of possible interference substances on the current response for cefixime was investigated and the method was found to have sufficient selectivity. The developed method was successfully applied for the analysis of cefixime from pharmaceutical formulations. The method can be an alternative to the other analytical approaches due to its speed, simplicity, low cost, wide calibration range, and repeatable responses. [GRAPHICS] .