Voltammetric determination of idarubicin used in cancer treatment on boron-doped diamond electrode

Idarubicin (4-demethoxy-daunorubicin) is a commercially available antineoplastic agent which belongs to the family of anthracycline antibiotics. This thesis examined the use of an anodically pretreated boron doped diamond electrode without any chemical modifications for the electrochemical determination of Idarubicin by using cyclic and square-wave voltammetry in aqueous solutions over the pH range of 2.0-8.0. The compound was mainly oxidized in two steps at high positive potentials, resulting in the formation of redox couples with reduction waves at less positive potentials. Using square-wave voltammetry, Idarubicin could be determined in the concentration range 0.5-25µg mL-1 (9.4×10-7-4.6×10-5 M) in Britton-Robinson buffer (pH 2.0) at +1.10 V (vs. Ag/AgCl). The limit of detection was 0.0174 µg mL-1 (3.2×10-8 M). The practical applicability of the developed method was demonstrated on the determination of Idarubicin in pharmaceutical formulation, with results similar to those obtained using a high-performance liquid chromatography with diode-array detection. Keywords: Anodic pretreatment, Boron-doped diamond electrode, Idarubicin, Injectable solutions, Square-wave voltammetry.