Electrochemical Oxidation of Tryptophan and Its Analysis in Pharmaceutical Formulations at a Poly(Methyl Red) Film-Modified Electrode

A poly(methyl red) film-modified glassy carbon electrode was fabricated and the oxidation behavior of tryptophan at the modified electrode was investigated by cyclic and linear sweep voltammetry. The oxidation peak current of tryptophan at the modified electrode increased significantly, and the oxidation process was irreversible and adsorption-controlled. An analytical method was developed for the determination of tryptophan in a phosphate buffer solution at pH 3.5. The anodic peak current varied linearly with a tryptophan concentration in the range 1.0 × 10−7 to 1.0 × 10−4 mol/L with a limit of detection of 4.0 × 10−8 mol/L. The proposed method was successfully applied to determine tryptophan in composite amino acid injections.