Primary amine drug selective electrodes with special crown ethers as neutral carriers

Ionophores selectively sensitive to primary amines have been synthesized which display low potentiometric selectivity coefficients for K+, Na+ and NH4+ ions, secondary and tertiary amines as well as quaternary ammonium ions. These ionophores include macrocyclic polyethers with dinaphthyl subunits and azocrown ether with nitrogen donor atoms. The feasibility of these ionophores for preparing primary amine drug selective electrodes was investigated in detail. Practically usable PVC membrane electrodes sensitive to primary amine drugs, such as mexiletine, dopamine, metaraminol and tryptamine, and aliphatic primary amines have been prepared with these ionophores as neutral carriers. Direct potentiometric methods for assaying these drugs have been proposed by using the prepared electrodes. The proposed primary amine drug selective electrodes are remarkably superior to those based on ion-associates. Compared with the electrodes based on common ethers, the interference by K+, Na+ and NH4+ ions is substantially reduced. A digital simulation of the electrochemical process concerning the membrane transport was performed and some interesting conclusions have been drawn.