Fast determination of naproxen in pharmaceutical formulations by batch injection analysis with pulsed amperometric detection

A novel and fast electroanalytical method for naproxen determination in pharmaceutical formulations using batch injection analysis (BIA) with pulsed amperometric detection is described. Bare glassy carbon electrode was used as working electrode and 0.05 mol L-1 phosphate buffer solution as supporting electrolyte. The amperometric method involved the continuous application of two sequential potential pulses to the working electrode in order to detect naproxen by its electrochemical oxidation (+1.5 V for 200 ms) and to clean the electrode surface from adsorption products (+1.0 V for 100 ms), avoiding electrode contamination. The proposed method has several advantages for routine analysis, including: a low relative standard deviation between injections (3.0%, n = 10), high analytical frequency (90 h-1), satisfactory accuracy (based on comparative determinations by spectrofluorimetry) and low limit of detection (0.3 µmol L-1).