ADSORPTIVE STRIPPING VOLTAMMETRIC BEHAVIOR OF MITOXANTRONE ON MERCURY-ELECTRODES

The electrochemical behaviour of mitoxantrone (MXT), an important anti neoplastic agent, has been studied at mercury electrodes. The nature o f the process taking place at the hanging mercury drop electrode (HMDE ) was clarified. The electrochemical behaviour observed was in close a greement with theoretical predictions for an adsorbed molecule which i s reversibly reduced. Both the molecule and its reduced product appear ed to be adsorbed at the surface of the electrode. Adsorptive strippin g voltammetry has been proven to be advantageous over any other assay technique, allowing 5 x 10(-11) M MXT to be detected. The interference arising from surfactants competing for the adsorption sites at the el ectrode have been studied and the possibility of MXT determination in dilute urine samples has been shown. Some interesting data, such as th e MXT adsorbing surface area and the kinetic constant of the associate d coupled chemistry reaction were also determined.