Experimental
Reagents and chemicalsAll other chemicals used in this work (otherwise those stated) were of analytical grade from Merck, and were used without further purification. Carbon micro-particles (graphite fine powder) with a particle size of less than 50 μm were obtained from Merck. Nafion solution was purchased from Sigma. All of the solutions were prepared by redistilled water. Acyclovir 2012 © The Japan Society for Analytical Chemistry † To whom correspondence should be addressed. Nickel microspheres were synthesized via a water-in-oil reverse nanoemulsion system using nickel nitrate as the nickel precursor and hydrazine hydrate as the reducing agent. The nanoemulsion was a triton X-100/cyclohexane/water ternary system. The surface morphology of the nickel microspheres was studied by scanning electron microscopy, which indicated that the microspheres had a nanoporous structure. The electrochemical behavior of the nanoporous nickel microspheres were studied in alkaline solution and were then employed to fabricate a modified carbon paste electrode in order to investigate the electrocatalytic oxidation of the drug acyclovir. The oxidation process involved, and its kinetics were investigated using cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry. The rate constant of the catalytic oxidation of acyclovir and the electron-transfer coefficient are reported. A sensitive, simple and time-saving amperometric procedure was developed for the analysis of acyclovir. The proposed amperometric method was also applied to determine acyclovir in tablets and topical cream.