Voltammetric behavior of complexation of salbutamol with calf thymus DNA and its analytical application

The interaction of salbutamol (Sal), an animal growth promoter, with DNA was investigated by differential pulse voltammetry (DPV), cyclic voltammetry (CV), and fluorescence spectroscopy. An irreversible reduction was observed from the cyclic voltammograms, and the reaction mechanism involved a one-electron change irreversible oxidation. In the presence of DNA, the DPV peak current decreased and the Sal peak shifted to higher potentials, indicating that Sal interacted with DNA to form an intercalation Sal–DNA complex. In addition, reaction binding parameters were extracted from the DPV data with the use of the multivariate curve resolution–alternating least squares (MCR–ALS) method; the binding constant and ratio were found to be (2.0 ± 0.5) × 10⁵ M⁻¹ and 1:1, respectively. Quantitative voltammetric analysis of Sal was performed in the concentration range of 3.02 × 10⁻⁶ to 1.23 × 10⁻⁴ mol L⁻¹, and it was found that the detection limit was 5.11 × 10⁻⁷ mol L⁻¹ in the presence of 1.00 × 10⁻⁶ mol L⁻¹ DNA. The method was applied for the determination of Sal in spiked urine and human serum samples, and the calibration was successfully verified.