Electrochemical study of zolpidem at glassy carbon electrode and its determination in a tablet dosage form by differential pulse voltammetry.

The oxidative behaviour of, a hypnotic drug, zolpidem was studied at glassy carbon electrode in Britton-Robinson buffer over the pH range 2.0-11.0 using cyclic, linear sweep and differential pulse voltammetry. Oxidation of the drug was effected in a single irreversible, diffusion-controlled step. Using differential pulse voltammetry (DPV), the drug yielded a well-defined voltammetric response in Britton-Robinson buffer, pH 8.0 at +0.889 V (vs. Ag/AgCl) on glassy carbon electrode. This process could be used to determine zolpidem concentrations in the range 5.0 x 10(-7) M to 1.0 x 10(-5) M with a detection limit of 2.0 x 10(-7) M. The method was applied, without any interference from the excipients, to the determination of the drug in a tablet dosage form.