Studies on the Electrochemical Behavior of the Pilocarpine Complex and its Application Using a Flow-through Polarographic Sensor

Pilocarpine (2(3H)-Furanone, -ethyldihydro-4-(1-methyl-1H-imidazol-5-yl)methyl]-) reacts with cobalt (II) in an acid medium and forms an electroactive complex with two sensitive reduction waves that are measurable using cyclic and differential pulse voltammetry on mercury-coated gold electrodes. We studied the electrochemical behaviors of this complex and its use for detecting pilocarpine in pharmaceuticals. We used carbon fiber with a surface deposit of mercury as a sensor in liquid chromatography-electrochemical detection (LCEC) to increase the sensitivity and selectivity of analytical methods for the determining trace concentrations of the cobalt (II)-pilocarpine complex.