Development of membrane selective electrode for determination of the antipsychotic sulpiride in pharmaceuticals and urine

The construction and electrochemical response characteristics of a poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) membrane selective electrode for the determination of sulpiride (SPD) are described. The sensing membrane comprised an ion-exchanger formed between the protonated drug and tetraphenylborate (TPB(-)) in a plasticized PVC matrix. The influence of membrane composition on the electrode response was studied. The electrode showed a fast, stable and Nernstian response over a sulpiride concentration range (1 × 10(-4) - 1 × 10(-2) M) with a mean slope of 58.4 ± 0.9 mV dec(-1) of concentration, a mean detection limit of 4.2 × 10(-5) ± 1.2 × 10(-5) M, a wide working pH range (2 - 8) and a fast response time (< 15 s). The electrode showed good selectivity towards sulpiride with respect to some inorganic and organic compounds. When the electrode was applied to the determination of sulpiride in pharmaceuticals and human urine, a high percentage of recovery was attained with no need for sample pretreatment procedures because of the lack of interfering matrix effects.