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Polarographic study of nifurtimox
J A Squella1, W Muñoz, C Paulos
1Electrochemistry Laboratory, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas y Farmacéuticas, Universidad de Chile, Santiago.
Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences
|September 1, 1990
Summary
Nifurtimox undergoes electrochemical reduction in a multi-step process. A new differential pulse polarographic method was developed for its accurate determination in pharmaceutical formulations.
Area of Science:
- Electrochemistry
- Analytical Chemistry
- Pharmaceutical Analysis
Background:
- Nifurtimox is a nitroheterocyclic compound used to treat Chagas disease.
- Understanding its electrochemical behavior is crucial for developing analytical methods.
- Previous methods for nifurtimox determination may lack sensitivity or specificity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the polarographic reduction mechanism of nifurtimox.
- To develop and validate a novel differential pulse polarographic method for nifurtimox quantification.
- To assess the applicability of the developed method for pharmaceutical analysis.
Main Methods:
- Electrochemical analysis using differential pulse polarography (DPP).
- Study of nifurtimox reduction over a wide pH range.
- Optimization of DPP parameters for peak resolution and sensitivity.
- Validation of the method using pharmaceutical samples.
Main Results:
- Nifurtimox exhibits polarographic reducibility across the entire pH range.
- The nitro group is reduced to a hydroxylamine group (4e process) and then to an amine (2e process at pH < 4).
- The C=N-N linkage undergoes reductive N-N bond fission.
- DPP peaks at pH 6, corresponding to nitro group reduction, were utilized for quantification.
Conclusions:
- The electrochemical reduction of nifurtimox involves distinct steps related to its functional groups.
- A sensitive and reliable DPP method for nifurtimox determination in pharmaceutical forms was successfully developed.
- This method offers a valuable tool for quality control and therapeutic drug monitoring.