Voltammetric Determination of Binding Constant and Stoichiometry of Albumin (Human, Bovine, Ovine)-Drug Complexes

The parameters characterizing the formation of complexes with albumin (in particular, human serum albumin (HSA)) are fundamental for the characterization of a drug for commercialization purposes and for the determination of common pharmacokinetic parameters. Electrochemical methods appear particularly attractive for the determination of the complexation constant, complex stoichiometry, and percentage of free/bound drug, due to the ease of operation and the wide availability. In this article, we propose an electrochemical method based on differential pulse voltammetry for the determination of albumin-drug interaction parameters, including the replacement of the drug-albumin adduct by a competitive compound, sulfanilamide. The formation of either single or multiple complexes between the considered drug and albumin has been considered. Typically, the method operates with a glassy carbon electrode in NaCl 0.9% as the supporting electrolyte.