[Electroanalytical methods in the European pharmacopoeia]

A brief survey on the electroanalytical test methods applied by the European Pharmacopoeia is presented by the authors. The frequency of the use of electrochemical tests and the main fields of their application in the monographs together with the trends of development are discussed. Paying a special attention to the measures taken by the pharmacopoeia to reduce the systematic and random error in each type of measurements, the authors are analysing the content and characteristics of texts describing the electrochemical methods. System suitability tests included in the different procedures and their efficacy in ensuring the criteria established in the validation studies carried out during elaboration of the test methods are also shown.