Square-wave voltammetric determination of hydroxychloroquine in pharmaceutical and synthetic urine samples using a cathodically pretreated boron-doped diamond electrode

•HCQ is determined by SW voltammetry using a cathodically pretreated BDD electrode.•The novel method was used for the determination of HCQ in pharmaceutical tablets.•The method was also used for the determination of HCQ in synthetic urine samples.•The obtained results agree with those of a comparative spectrophotometric method.•The attained detection limit is the best yet using an unmodified electrode.

A square-wave voltammetry method for the determination of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) in pharmaceutical and synthetic urine samples with a cathodically pretreated (CPT) boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrode was successfully developed. Using cyclic voltammetry, the HCQ oxidation was shown to be a one-electron diffusion-controlled process. The obtained SWV analytical curve (Ipa/μA = 0.033 + 1.24 [HCQ/(μmol L−1)]) for HCQ determination (using 0.1 mol L−1 H2SO4 as supporting electrolyte) presented a linear response from 0.1 to 1.9 μmol L−1, with a detection limit of 0.06 μmol L−1, the best value attained yet with an unmodified electrode. The proposed method was successfully applied in the determination of HCQ in pharmaceutical (tablets) samples, with results similar at a 95% confidence level to those obtained using a reference spectrophotometric method. Additionally, adequate recovery results were obtained for the determination of HCQ in doped synthetic urine samples. The novel proposed method is inexpensive and fast, with no need of sample pretreatment.

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