Electrochemical reduction and stripping voltammetric determination of the anti-glaucoma drug levobunolol HCl in formulation and human serum at the mercury electrode

Abstract

Levobunolol HCl is a potent non-selective ß-adrenoceptor blocking agent used for the topical treatment of increased intraocular pressure in patients with chronic open angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension. Precise, rapid and extraction-free square-wave adsorptive cathodic stripping voltammetry (SW-AdCSV) method has been described for trace quantitation of levobunolol HCl in bulk form, commercial formulation (ophthalmologic drops) and human serum. Limits of quantification (LOQ) of 1.0 × 10-10 mol L-1 (in bulk form) and 2.5 × 10-10 mol L-1 levobunolol HCl (in spiked human serum) were achieved by the described method. Insignificant interferences from excipients associated with formulation of levobunolol HCl and from some common metal ions, co-administrated drugs, some other ß-blocker agents and its metabolite dihydrolevobunolol that are likely to be present in the biological fluids were obtained. The described SW-AdCSV method is sensitive enough to assay the drug in human serum compared to most of the reported methods. © 2014 Sociedade Brasileira de Química.