Determination of Zalcitabine in Medicaments by Differential Pulse Voltammetry

The zalcitabine (ddC) has been extensively used in the treatment of HIV patients due to its antiretroviral activity. The quality control of this active principle in medications is of outstanding importance to public health. The principal objective of the current study was the development of an alternative analytical methodology for the zalcitabine determination using a voltammetric process. The zalcitabine gives a reduction peak (at -1.22 V versus Ag/AgCl) at the hanging mercury drop electrode (HMDE). The differential pulse voltammetric response is evaluated with respect to the scan rate (20 mV/s), pulse amplitude (50 mV), support electrolyte (Clark-Lubs buffer), pH (2.0), and other variables. The response is linear over the 10.0 to 28.0 mg/L (47 to 133 μM) concentration range, and the detection limit is 2.08 mg/L. The validation of this method was realized using a governmental Brazilian document (Inmetro, 2007) and the results are reported for medication drugs.