Carbon nanofiber screen printed electrode joined to a flow injection system for nimodipine sensing

A simple and sensitive electrochemical method using pretreated carbon nanofiber screen printed electrodes joined to a flow injection analysis (CNF-SPE-FIA) system was developed to analyze nimodipine (NMD) in pharmaceutical formulations. Low detection limits were achieved by controlling the accumulation time or sample volume. The developed method performed well with a LOD from 0.08 to 0.400 mu M for a 6 or 1 mL sample loop and an RSD below 2% for a wide linear range. This method was applicable to both named brand and generic drug tablets containing 30 mg NMD. A contents concentration of 30.2 mg/tablet of NMD with an RSD = 2.0% for named brand and 30.1 mg/tablet with an RSD =1.9% of NMD in the generic drug was determined. This work could promote the potential application of CNF-SPE-FIA system as a new strategy to be applied to the analysis of any drug derived from nitroaromatic compounds. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.