electrochemical oxidation of acetaminophen in the presence of amino acids

Abstract: the in vitro studies of the electrochemical oxidation of drugs in aqueous medium are important. in fact, the results provide the criterion for investigating of drugs behavior in the body biological systems [1]. the present work aims to report, the effect of amino acids on the electrochemical oxidation of acetaminophen by using cyclic voltammetry and coulometry techniques. the results show that n-acetyl-p-benzoquinone (napqi) induced by acetaminophen oxidation, [2] reacts with amino acids (i.e. l-cysteine, l-methionine, l-tyrosine, l-serine, l-arginine, l-threonine, d-galactose). napqi participate in via ec´ reaction mechanism with l-cysteine, ece and ec reaction mechanism with l-methionin and ec reaction mechanism with l-tyrosine. the final product was synthesized using coulometry in aqueous solution through a catalyst‐free environmentally friendly method at room temperature under green conditions. the product was then separated and purified. it was characterized by nmr, ft-ir and ms techniques. electrochemical oxidation of acetaminophen was performed in the presence of different concentrations of amino acids at different phs using cyclic voltammetry (cv) [3]. the voltammetric results show that the ratio of cathode peak current to anodic peak for acetaminophen in the presence of the amino acids l-cysteine, oxidized l-tyrosine, l-arginine, l-threonine, l-methionine and not oxidized l-tyrosine had the most reductions; that indicate the reactivity of these amino acids with acetaminophen. therefore, the studied amino acids can be used as an antidote in overdoses of acetaminophen.