EN
The analytical properties of an ion-selective electrode sensitive to labetalol with a liquid membrane, based on ion-pair complexes with sodium tetraphenylborate (TPB-Na+) are described. The studied electrode can be used for the determination of labetalol hydrochloride as a protonated form of labetalol in pharmaceuticals. The calibration curve, e.g. EMF=f(pCLabHCl) is linear in the range from 10−5 to 10−2 mol L−1 with a correlation coefficient of 0.9992 and slope of 61.13 mV/decade, which is close to the Nernstian slope. The detection limit of the examined electrode is 7.20×10−6 mol L−1. The influence of pH of the tested solutions on the formulation of the electrode is not as considerable since the electrode works correctly in the pH range 3.0–8.0. The main attributes of the developed electrode are: stability, good reproducibility of EMF and short response time, close to 30 seconds depending on labetalol concentration in the solution. The electrode shows good selectivity for many inorganic ions. The selectivity for drug cations is weaker due to the structural similarity of the interfering cations to labetalol. The results of labetalol determination using direct potentiometry in drugs such as Pressocard (Polpharma) and Trandate (GlaxoWellcome) were compatible with the quantity of labetalol declared by the manufacturer, and with parallel UV spectrophotometric and HPLC determinations.