A combination of voltammetry of immobilized microparticles and carbon black-based crosslinked chitosan films deposited on glassy carbon electrode for the quantification of hydroquinone in dermatologic cream samples.

New progress in the application of voltammetry of immobilized microparticles (VIM) technique in electroanalytical chemistry is reported in this work through the determination of hydroquinone in dermatologic cream samples. The designed electrode was based on a glassy carbon electrode modified with a crosslinked chitosan film containing immobilized carbon black nanoparticles and hydroquinone standards or sample. The electrochemical features of immobilized hydroquinone were explored, which a fast electron transfer kinetic was verified from the perfect reversible redox behavior of this molecule. All the experimental conditions were optimized, including supporting electrolyte condition (composition, pH, and ionic strength) and technical parameters of differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). Under the optimized experimental conditions, the analytical curve was linear by a wide concentration range from 2.7 to 43 ng, with detection and quantification limits of 0.045 and 0.15 ng, respectively. Two commercial dermatologic cream samples were successfully immobilized and analyzed using the proposed VIM procedure, and the results were similar to those recorded by a spectrophotometric comparative procedure. Our set of results represents a unique and exciting advance in the scenario of electroanalytical chemistry for future applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]