Electroanalytical studies of certain nitro and benzodiazepine drugs at rotating disc electrodes

Abstract

Nitro groups have proved to be diversely reducible, best at gold electrodes in alkaline media, the immunosuppressive azathioprine by one or two steps to the hydroxylamine, the antiamoebic metronidazole by two steps to the amine, and the hypnotic nitrazepam by a single step to the amine. Neither the 1,2-carbon–nitrogen double bond, nor the N-oxide group in diazepines, was active at solid electrodes. Rapid voltammetric determination of the nitro-compounds at gold electrodes was effective and gave a mean relative standard deviation of 1%. Electrode kinetic parameters have been determined for the nitro compounds. Cyclic voltammetry of azathioprine was uninformative.