Electrochemical Oxidation of Donepezil and Its Voltammetric Determination at Gold Electrode

The oxidative ability of donepezil, a frequently prescribed drug for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease is reported for the first time at a gold electrode. It was oxidized by cyclic voltammetry and determined by square wave voltammetry in phosphate buffer electrolyte. Electrochemical degradation of donepezil was carried out by long term potential cycling. The identification and characterization of the major product, isolated by preparative high performance liquid chromatography, was performed by high resolution mass spectrometry and 1D and 2D nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Donepezil hydroxy derivative was identified as the major electrochemical oxidation product from donepezil.