Flow injection with anodic polarographic detection for the determination of allopurinol in pharmaceutical formulations

Abstract

Data are reported concerning the anodic behaviour of the antihyperuricaemia agent allopurinol at a mercury electrode. A method based on flow injection with anodic polarographic detection (Fl-APD) has been developed for the drug assay in tablets. Polarographic detection is based on the formation of a sparingly soluble mercury compound. A high selectivity, a continuously renewable electrode surface and no need for de-oxygenation of the carrier stream, are the advantages of this approach. The Fl-APD method provided an accurate and sensitive drug determination with a detection limit of 1.8 µM and a relative standard deviation of 3.1% at the 28 µM level. The sample throughput was 90 samples h^–1. The sample treatments involved a sonication-aided tablet dissolution step in 1 mM NaOH.