Application of stripping voltammetry to trace lead analysis in intermediates and final products of syntheses of pharmaceuticals

Direct analysis of palladium in active pharmaceutical ingredients by anodic stripping voltammetry

Anodic stripping voltammetry, a classical electroanalytical method has been optimized to analyze trace Pd(II) in active pharmaceutical ingredient matrices. The electroanalytical approach with an unmodified glassy carbon electrode was performed in both aqueous and 95% DMSO/5% water (95/5 DMSO/H2O) solutions, without pretreatment such as acid digestion or dry ashing to remove the organics. Limits of detection (LODs) in the presence of caffeine and ketoprofen were determined to be 11 and 9.6 μg g(-1), with a relative standard deviation (RSD) of 5.7% and 2.3%, respectively. This method is simple, highly reproducible, sensitive, and robust. The instrumentation has the potential to be portable and the obviation of sample pretreatment makes it an ideal approach for determining lost catalytic metals in pharmaceutical-related industries. Furthermore, the simultaneous detection of Pd(II) with Cd(II) and Pb(II) in the low μg L(-1) range indicates that this system is capable of simultaneous multi-analyte analysis in a variety of matrices.

Direct determination of cadmium and lead in pharmaceutical ingredients using anodic stripping voltammetry in aqueous and DMSO/water solutions

A new electrochemical method has been developed to detect and quantify the elemental impurities, cadmium(II) (Cd(2+)) and lead(II) (Pb(2+)), either simultaneously or individually in pharmaceutical matrices. The electro-analytical approach, involving the use of anodic stripping voltammetry (ASV) on an unmodified glassy carbon electrode, was performed in both aqueous and in a 95/5 dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO)/water solutions, without acid digestion or dry ashing to remove organic matrices. Limits of detection (LODs) in the μg L(-1) [or parts per billion (ppb), mass/volume] range were obtained for both heavy metals - in the presence and absence of representative pharmaceutical components. To the best of our knowledge, the work demonstrates the first analysis of heavy metals in DMSO/water solutions through ASV. The strong reproducibility and stability of the sensing platform, as well as obviation of sample pretreatment show the promise of utilizing ASV as a sensitive, robust, and inexpensive alternative to inductively-coupled-plasma (ICP)-based approaches for the analysis of elemental impurities in, e.g., pharmaceutical-related matrices.

Analytical methods for heavy metals in herbal medicines

INTRODUCTION

It is estimated that about 70-80% of the world's population relies on non-conventional medicine, mainly of herbal origin. However, owing to the nature and sources of herbal medicines, they are sometimes contaminated with toxic heavy metals such as lead, arsenic, mercury and cadmium, which impose serious health risks to consumers. It is critical to analyse source materials for heavy metals in order to ensure that their concentrations meet the related standards or regulations limiting their concentrations in herbal medicines. In this review, different analytical methods for analysis of heavy metals in herbal medicines are discussed.

OBJECTIVE

To provide a comprehensive review of the current state of the art in analytical methods used to detect heavy metals in herbal medicines.

METHODOLOGY

We systematically searched and reviewed the research articles regarding analytical methods for heavy metals in herbal medicine from various databases, such as Medline/PubMed, ScienceDirect, SciFinder, Google Scholar, EBSCO, Gale InfoTrac, Ingenta, Ovid, ProQuest and ISI Web of Knowledge.

RESULTS

In this review, we discuss in detail several commonly used and sensitive analytical techniques, including atomic absorption spectrometry, inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry or mass spectrometry, X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, high-performance liquid chromatography, differential pulse polarography, neutron activation analysis and anodic stripping voltammetry. We also provide some application examples of these analytical techniques for heavy metals in herbal medicines.

Trace iron determination in aminoisophthalic acid using differential-pulse cathodic stripping voltammetry at carbon paste electrodes

Application of differential-pulse cathodic stripping voltammetry using a carbon paste electrode (consisting of carbon powder and liquid paraffin) have been investigated for trace determination of iron in 5-aminoisophthalic acid (AIPA). Samples were dissolved in 1 M HC1, pH was adjusted to 4-5 after addition of EDTA. Voltammetric measurements were performed after filtration. No sample decomposition (mineralization) was necessary. The method showed a good linearity between current and concentration from 3 x 10(-7) to 5 x 10(-5) mol dm-3 of iron, with a detection limit of 3 x 10(-7) mol dm-3 (resp. 1 ppm in solid AIPA). The results agreed well to those obtained by atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) using electrothermic atomisation. For AAS measurement, however, microwave digestion of samples was necessary.