Determination of paracetamol in pure and pharmaceutical dosage forms by pulse perturbation technique

A new procedure for kinetic determination of paracetamol in pharmaceuticals is proposed. The method is based on potentiometric monitoring of the concentration perturbations of the matrix reaction system being in a stable non-equilibrium stationary state close to the bifurcation point. In the case considered as the matrix system, the Bray–Liebhafsky oscillatory reaction is used. The response of the matrix system to the perturbations by different concentrations of paracetamol is followed by a Pt-electrode. Proposed method relies on the linear relationship between maximal potential shift, ΔEm, and the logarithm of added paracetamol amounts. It is obtained in optimized experimental conditions for variable amounts of paracetamol in the range 0.0085 and 1.5 μmol. The sensitivity and precision of proposed method were quite good (0.0027 μmol as the limit of detection and 2.4% as R.S.D.). Some aspects of possible chemical interactions between paracetamol and matrix are discussed. Applicability of the proposed method to the direct determination of paracetamol in pharmaceutical formulations was demonstrated.