Automated chemiluminometric screening of counterfeit drugs of the antituberculosis agent pyrazinamide.

Finding counterfeit drugs presents a growing challenge in preventing these products from entering health systems and causing serious consequences for consumers, drug manufacturers, and governments. In this investigation a simple, low-cost, and expeditious chemiluminometric approach, relying on a fully automated multipumping flow system for screening pharmaceutical preparations of the antituberculosis drug pyrazinamide, was implemented. The developed chemiluminescent method was based on the scavenging effect of pyrazinamide on the oxidation of luminol by hydrogen peroxide in alkaline medium. For analytical signal monitoring, a homemade chemiluminescence detector relying on a photomultiplier module was developed. Linear calibration plots for pyrazinamide concentrations between 10 and 70 mg/L were obtained (R = 0.9931) with good precision (RSD < 0.99%; n = 21). The limit of detection was 5.79 mg/L, and the sampling rate was about 150 determinations per hour.