IntroductionMebendazole (MBZ) (5-benzoyl-2-benzimidazolylcarbamic acid methyl ester) (C16H13N3O2) is a broad spectrum anthelmintic drug producing high cure rates in infestations by ascaris, thread worms, hook worms and whip worms.1,2 MBZ causes slow immobilization and death of the worms by selectively and irreversibly blocking uptake of glucose and other nutrients in susceptible adult intestines where helminths dwell.In recent years, potentiometric membrane sensors have been widely used in pharmaceutical analysis. [3][4][5] Potentiometric methods using ion-selective electrodes have wide applications 6-11 because they are simple, economical and available over a wide range of different areas, and offer sufficient selectivity towards the drug in the presence of various pharmaceutical excipients. The low cost, ease of use and maintenance, the simplicity and speed of assay procedure and the reliability of the analytical information make the ionselective electrodes very attractive for the assay of pharmaceutical products.The different analytical techniques available in the literature for the quantitative determination of MBZ include spectrophotometry, 12 high performance liquid chromatography, [13][14][15][16][17][18] liquid chromatography, 19 thin layer chromatography 20 and cathodic stripping voltammetry. 21 Most of these methods are complicated and need sophisticated instruments.In continuation to our work on drug analysis, 22-25 an attempt has been made to develop an electrochemical sensor for the anthelmintic drug mebendazole.The present work describes the fabrication, optimization and some possible applications of a novel MBZ PVC sensor based on the use of a mebendazole-silicotungstate ion pair complex as the electro active material and bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (BEP) as plasticizer. The developed sensor displays high selectivity, long term stability, fast response and applicability over a wide range of pH and drug concentrations.
Experimental
Reagents and chemicalsAll chemicals used in the study were of highest purity available and were used without further purification. Polyvinyl chloride powder (PVC) of high molecular weight was supplied by Merck. Dibutyl sebacate (DBS), bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (BEP), bis(2-ethylhexyl)adipate (BEA), bis(2-ethylhexyl)sebacate (BES), di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP), phosphotungstic acid (PTA), molybdophosphoric acid (MPA) and silicotungstic acid (STA) were purchased from Lancaster and used as received. Tetrahydrofuran (THF) was obtained from s.d. fine chemicals and all of the metal salts used (all from Merck) were of the highest purity available. Aqueous solutions of the salts were prepared by dissolving the appropriate salt or diluting standard solutions as specified in doubly distilled water. Aqueous solutions of the drug were freshly prepared by accurate dilutions of a standard 10 -1 M stock drug solution using dilute nitric acid (10% v/v) as solvent. Pure-grade MBZ was obtained as a gift sample. Pharmaceutical formulations containing MBZ were obtained from local drug stores....