Electrochemical Detection of Benzodiazepines, Following Liquid Chromatography, for Applications in Pharmaceutical, Biomedical and Forensic Investigations

Benzodiazepines are an important class of drugs commonly administered with a potential for abuse and environmental pollution. This review focuses on the liquid chromatographic electrochemical detection of the benzodiazepine class of drugs. These are characterised by a readily electrochemically reducible azomethine group, with a number also substituted by other electrochemically active groups. Liquid chromatography employing both single and dual electrode detection has been reported for a variety of benzodiazepines and their metabolites in biological, pharmaceutical, biomedical and forensic investigations. Recently, electrochemistry has been utilised to mimic biological oxidation processes and has been combined with liquid chromatography/mass spectroscopy for their identification and quantification of the products generated. The present review focuses on recent developments in liquid chromatographicelectrochemical determination of benzodiazepines reported since 2006, with earlier reports given in summary.