Analytical Sciences

Determination of Ophthalmic Drug Proparacaine Using Multi-walled Carbon Nanotube Paste Electrode by Square Wave Stripping Voltammetry

Ersin DEMIR,* Onur INAM,** and Recai INAM***

*Department of Food Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Okan University, Istanbul, 34959, Turkey
**Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, Hacettepe University, Ankara, 06230, Turkey
***Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Gazi University, Ankara, 06500, Turkey

Proparacaine, one of the most common local anesthetics to facilitate diagnosis and treatment of eye diseases, was assayed by square wave voltammetry using a paste electrode prepared with carbon nanotubes. In cyclic voltammetric studies, proparacaine has exhibited a single irreversible anodic peak at around + 900 mV vs. Ag/AgCl in pH 6.0 Britton–Robinson buffer solution. It was suggested that the peak had appeared due to the oxidation of the NH₂ group on the proparacaine molecule. Prior to the determination of the proparacaine by square wave stripping voltammetry (SWSV) on the fabricated multi-walled carbon nanotube paste electrode (MWCNTPE), the accumulation potential (E_acc), accumulation time (t_acc), pulse amplitude (ΔE), step potential (ΔE_s) and frequency (f ) parameters were optimized. The peak currents plotted in the range of 0.5 – 12.5 mg/L proparacaine exhibited two linear sections with a detection limit of 0.11 mg/L. The results for the determination of proparacaine on a pharmaceutical local anesthetic (Alcaine^®) showed that relative standard deviation (RSD) and relative error (RE) were 4.1 and –2.0%, respectively. Selectivity has also been investigated and results showed recoveries of 5.0 mg/L proparacaine in the presence of 5.0 mg/L dopamine, ascorbic acid and uric acid as 106.9 ± 0.8, 99.9 ± 1.2 and 94.1 ± 0.7, respectively.

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