Quantitative assay of metronidazole by capillary zone electrophoresis with amperometric detection at a gold microelectrode

Capillary zone electrophoresis was employed for the determination of metronidazole using end-column amperometric detection with a gold microelectrode at a constant potential of -0.52V vs, saturated calomel electrode. To overcome interference of oxygen in the solution, a deaeration injector and a deaeration protector at the detection cell were used. The optimum conditions of separation and detection are 1.0 x 10(-3) mol/L potassium dihydrogen citrate (KH2C6H5O7) for the buffer solution, 20 kV for the separation voltage, and 5 kV and 10 S for injection voltage and injection time, respectively. The limit of detection is 6.0 x 10(7) mol/L or 0.78 fmole (S/N = 3). The relative standard deviation is 3.9% for the electrophoretic peak current. The method was applied to the determination of metronidazole in human urine.