VOLTAMMETRIC BEHAVIOR OF COPPER-COMPLEXES WITH THE ANTITUMOR DRUG 6-MERCAPTOPURINE

The complex of copper and 6-mercaptopurine was synthesized and its electrochemical properties in DMF were studied by voltammetry on a GCE. The complex was stable in the solid state and in DMF solution, and contained copper ion in its + 1 oxidation state. At + 0.380 V, the complex underwent quasi-reversible oxidation to the Cu(II) complex, stable on the voltammetric time-scale. The accessibility of both the Cu(II) and the Cu(I) form, a high redox potential and fast electron transfer enabled the complex to be used as a mediator for the oxidation of some organic compounds which are electro-oxidized with difficulty on a bare GCE in the absence of CuMP, Adsorption of CuMP on mercury electrodes was utilized in a cathodic stripping voltammetry procedure for the determination of mercaptopurine.