Voltammetry of drugs at the interface between two immiscible electrolyte
solutions
H. Alemu
Department of Chemistry, National University of Lesotho,
P.O.Roma 180,
Room 127, Roma, Lesotho
Abstract: In this review, the results of the electrochemical
investigations made on the transfer of ionizable drugs at the interface
between two immiscible electrolyte solutions (ITIES) in the last decade
have been presented. In many of the studies, cyclic voltammetry has
been used to investigate the transfer characteristics of the charged
species and deduce their partition coefficients, which are very important
parameters to infer the lipophilicity of drugs in biological systems.
The electrochemical technique allows the precise determination of the
distribution of ionic species between two phases in a wider pH range.
Such studies point out the complexity of the distribution of ionizable
compounds and offer a new approach to relate the structure of such compounds
to their passive transport across biological membranes.
*Plenary lectures presented at the Inaugural Conference
for the Southern and Eastern Africa Network of Analytical Chemists (SEANAC),
Gaborone, Botswana, 7-10 July 2003. Other presentations are published
in this issue, pp. 697-888.
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