Voltammetric approaches for the determination of arsenic and speciation at trace levels are critically appraised in a review covering the literature from 1970 to 2002. Special attention is devoted to stripping modes and to issues related to the choice of working material and supporting electrolyte. A section is dedicated to the management of real samples and aspects of sample preparation. An extensive compilation, organized by real sample type, gathers essential experimental conditions. Potentiometric stripping analysis is introduced for sake of comparison. The coupling of voltammetric detection or preaccumulation with FIA, chromatography, capillary electrophoresis and ICP techniques is also addressed.

An electrochemical method for the determination of the anticancer platinum drug carboplatin using a DNA-modified electrode was developed. This electrode was successfully used for the electrochemical determination of carboplatin in serum samples of patients with ovarian cancer undergoing treatment. The electrochemical results clearly demonstrated that, for low concentrations, carboplatin interacts preferentially with adenine rather than guanine groups in the DNA and they can contribute to clarifying the mechanisms of interaction of platinum anticancer drugs with DNA. The pharmacokinetics c o r m ondIng to the administration of the drug was followed electrochemically and the detection limit in serum samples was 5.7 x 10 M. Due to a similar mechanism of reaction with DNA other platinum anticancer drugs can be determined by this method.

The newly developed DNA-biosensor is a very promising tool for the investigation and study of the action of drugs specifically designed to interact with DNA. In this work the electrochemical reduction of nitroimidazole drugs was studied in the presence of DNA immobilized onto the surface of a glassy carbon electrode. This enabled preconcentration of the drug onto the electrode surface, which was then electrochemically reduced to the corresponding hydroxylamine which followed by reoxidation give the nitroso compound and subsequently an azoxycompound. Moreover, as the target of the nitroimidazole action was the DNA, the damage caused to DNA on the electrode surface by a reduction product of this drug could be detected in situ.