Expert system for pharmaceutical analysis. I. Selection of the detection system in high-performance liquid chromatographic analysis: UV versus amperometric detection.

The usefulness of amperometric detection in pharmaceutical analyses was investigated for different groups of drugs. The UV response at 254 nm and that at the absorption maximum of the solute were compared with the electrochemical signal obtained. The minimum detectable concentration (nanograms on-column) of each substance is reported for the three different detection systems. This comparison was performed for 72 drugs (local anaesthetics, antipyretics, tricyclic antidepressants, sulphonamides, sex hormones, beta-adrenoceptor blocking agents, phenothiazines, alkaloids, diuretics and penicillins). The median limit of detection of the amperometric detector (see definition in the text) is 1.0 ng on-column and the median gain in sensitivity, compared with UV detection is 22.5.