Comparison of adsorptive stripping voltammetry at mercury and carbon paste electrodes for the determination of ciprofloxacin in urine

We compared hanging mercury drop electrodes (HMDEs) and carbon paste electrodes (CPEs) for the determination by adsorptive stripping voltammetry (AdSV) of the antibiotic ciprofloxacin in urine. The antibiotic compound could be preconcentrated at both electrode surfaces, with carbon paste electrode yielding a better performance. These electrodes could be used to determine between 6 × 10 −7 and 4 × 10 −6 M ciprofloxacin in urine. A cleanup procedure (with 81% recovery), utilizing a C 18 Sep Pak cartridge, was required to separate ciprofloxacin from the biological matrix prior to adsorptive stripping analysis. The method was applied to the determination of ciprofloxacin in spiked urine samples with a relative standard deviation of 4.1%.