Abstract

An efficient, fast and sensitive method for the determination of 17 beta-estradiol, (E2) and 17 alpha-ethinylestradiol (EE2) in pharmaceutical formulations and in urine was developed and validated using a hanging mercury drop electrode (HMDE), screen printed carbon electrodes (SPCE), and screen printed carbon nanotube electrodes (SPCNTE). Both analyzes are adsorbed on the working electrodes. To obtain sensitive and selective methods, the effects of various parameters such as pH, adsorption potential, and time (E-ads, t(ads)) were optimized. The optimum experimental conditions chosen for the two analyzes were pH: 10.0; E-ads: - 0.60 and t(ads): 30 s, when HMDE was used. Under these conditions, one reduction signal was found at -1.31 V for E2 and two reduction signals at - 0.23 V and -1.20 V for EE2. The detection limits (DLs) were found to be 0.3 mu g L-1 for E2, 14.8 mu g L-1 for EE2 at - 0.23 V, and 9.7 mu g L-1 for EE2 at -1.20 V. On the other hand, in screen printed electrodes E2 and EE2 present oxidation of the phenolic hydroxyl groups at 0.30, 0.31, 0.32, and 0.33 V (pH:10) with DLs of 242, 277; 182, and 191 mu g L-1 for SPCE and SPCNTE, respectively. The method was successfully applied to the determination of these analyzes in Primaquin (R) (E2), Gynera (R) (EE2), spiked urine (with EE2), and urine samples of women who used Tinelle (R) (EE2) as contraceptive drug.