Electroanalytical performance of self-assembled monolayer gold electrode for chloramphenicol determination

Monolayers of 2-mercapto-5-methylbenzimidazole (MMB) were prepared on a polycrystalline gold electrode via a self-assembly process to produce a self-assembled monolayer. The resulting electrode was investigated by cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and applied to the determination of chloramphenicol (CAP) in a pharmaceutical formulation using flow injection analysis along with amperometric detection. The amperometric cell was operated at −0.75 V (vs Ag/AgCl) at a flow rate of 3 mL min⁻¹. The method was applied to the determination of CAP in ophthalmic solutions, and its performance was compared to a previously validated HPLC method. The response to CAP is linear in the range from 0.050 to 1.000 µmol L⁻¹ (r = 0.9990), and the limit of detection is 44 µmol L⁻¹.