Electrochemical behavior and differential pulse voltammetric determination of ceftazidime, cefuroxime-axetil and ceftriaxone

Abstract

The voltammetric behavior of three cephalosporins: ceftazidime, cefuroxime-axetil and ceftriaxone has been examined in pH range 2.0-8.0 by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV), using a hanging mercury drop electrode (HMDE). The effect of pH of the electrolyte solution and scan rate on the peak currents and peak potentials was examined. The nature of the electrode reduction process in acid solution was found to be diffusion controlled for ceftazidime and cefuroxime-axetil, but strongly influenced by adsorption in the case of ceftriaxone reduction. The adsorption and reorientation of the ceftriaxone molecule at the electrode surface caused instability of the voltammetric signal and disabled its determination in the acid medium. Ceftriaxone adsorption decreased with the increase of pH, and at pH>7 the reduction process became diffusion controlled. Based on this study, DPV method was developed, validated and suggested for determination of ceftazidime at pH 2.0, cefuroxime-axetil at pH 3.5 and for ceftriaxone at pH 8.0. Linear concentration ranges, limits of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ) were determined. The method was applied for determination of cephalosporins in pharmaceutical dosage forms: Ceftazidime powder, Ceroxim tablets and Longaceph powder for injection solution.