RESUMEN
A study on the possible sites of oxidation and epoxidation of nortriptyline was performed using electrochemical and quantum chemical methods; these sites are involved in the biological responses (for example, hepatotoxicity) of nortriptyline and other similar antidepressants. Quantum chemical studies and electrochemical experiments demonstrated that the oxidation and epoxidation sites are located on the apolar region of nortriptyline, which will useful for understanding the molecule's activity. Also, for the determination of the compound in biological fluids or in pharmaceutical formulations, we propose a useful analytical methodology using a graphite-polyurethane composite electrode, which exhibited the best performance when compared with boron-doped diamond or glassy carbon surfaces.
Asunto(s)
Electroquímica/métodos , Modelos Moleculares , Nortriptilina/química , Algoritmos , Dominio Catalítico , Electroquímica/instrumentación , Electrodos , Modelos Químicos , Estructura Molecular , Oxidación-Reducción , Teoría CuánticaRESUMEN
The use of a copper solid amalgam electrode (CuSAE) for the analytical determination of triazine herbicides (atrazine and ametryne) instead of the conventional hanging mercury drop electrode (HMDE) is reported. The results obtained using electroanalytical methods utilizing each of these electrodes were also compared with those provided by the HPLC technique. The results indicated that the CuSAE electrode can be used to detect the herbicides studied, since the detection limits reached using the electrode (3.06 microg L-1 and 3.78 microg L-1 for atrazine and ametryne, respectively) are lower than the maximum values permitted by CONAMA (Brazilian National Council for the Environment) for wastewaters (50 microg L-1) and by the US EPA (Environmental Protection Agency of the United States) in natural water samples (10.00 microg L-1). An electroanalytical methodology employing CuSAE and square wave voltammetry (SWV) was successfully applied to the determination of atrazine and ametryne in natural water samples, yielding good recoveries (70.30%-79.40%). This indicates that the CuSAE provides a convenient substitute for the HMDE, particularly since the CuSAE minimizes the toxic waste residues produced by the use of mercury in HDME-based analyses.