Enhancement effect of sodium-dodecyl sulfate on the anodic stripping voltammetric signal of phenylephrine hydrochloride at carbon paste electrode

•The oxidation peak of PHE increased in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS).•In the presence of SDS better reproducibility and lower electrode memory were achieved.•This sensor has been applied to determine PHE in pharmaceutical preparations.

The voltammetric oxidation and determination of phenylephrine hydrochloride was studied at a carbon paste electrode (CPE) in the presence of sodium-dodecyl sulfate (SDS) by cyclic and differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry. The experimental parameters, such as SDS concentration, pH, scan rate, accumulation time and accumulation potential were optimized. Under optimal conditions the peak current was proportional to phenylephrine concentration in the range of 0.04–100 μM with limit of detection 0.0097 μM. The proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of phenylephrine in pharmaceutical samples.