Ion-Selective Electrodes for the Potentiometric Determination of Pramoxine HCl Using Different Ionophores

Four novel pramoxine HCl (PAM) selective electrodes were investigated with 2-nitrophenyl octylether as a plasticiser in a polymeric matrix of polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Sensor 1 was fabricated using sodium-tetraphenylborate (TPB) as an anionic exchanger without incorporation of an ionophore. Sensor 2 used 2-hydroxy propyl -cyclodextrin as an ionophore, while sensors 3 and 4 were constructed using 4-sulfocalix-6-arene and 4-sulfocalix-8-arene respectively as ionophores. Linear responses of PAM within the concentration ranges of 1.0 × 10-4 to 1.0 × 10-2 mol L-1 and 1.0 × 10-5 to 1.0 × 10-2 mol L-1 were obtained using sensors 1 and 2, respectively and 1.0 × 10-6 to 1.0 × 10-2 mol L-1 were obtained using sensors 3 and 4. Nernstian slopes of 50.4 ± 0.6, 54.3 ± 0.8, 56.3 ± 0.3 and 59.1 ± 0.5 mV/decade over the pH range of 3.0-6.0 were observed. The selectivity coefficients of the developed sensors indicated excellent selectivity for PAM. The utility of 2-hydroxy- propylcyclodextrin (2HP-β-CD) and 4-sulfocalix [6,8] arene (SC 6, 8) as ionophores had a significant influence on increasing the membrane sensitivity and selectivity of sensors 2, 3 and 4 compared to sensor 1. The proposed sensors displayed useful analytical characteristics for the determination of PAM in bulk powder, pharmaceutical formulation, and in biological fluid. Validation of the method showed the suitability of the proposed electrodes for the use in the quality control assessment of the drug. Furthermore, statistical comparison between the results obtained by the proposed method and the official method of the drug was performed and no significant difference was found.