A new salicylate ISFET for the determination of salicylic and acetylsalicylic acid in drugs.

A salicylate ISFET for the analysis of salicylic and acetylsalicylic acid in drugs is described. It is based on a salicylate ion selective membrane coated on the surface of the Si3N4 gate of the FET. The sensitive membrane consists of tetra-dodecylammonium salicylate, polyvinyl chloride and a proper plasticizer. The linearity range of the sensor is 5 x 10(-5)-1.5 x 10(-2) M for the salicylic acid, and 7 x 10(-5)-1.5 x 10(-2) M for the acetylsalicylic acid, respectively. The detection limit for the two compounds is 5 x 10(-5) M while the response time is < or = 20 s. The effect of pH and different interfering ions was also studied. The sensor was used to analyse the content of acetylsalicylic and salicylic acid in some drugs, and the accuracy of the method was evaluated through recovery tests. The results obtained with this method are well correlated either with those obtained with a classical ISE employing the same sensitive membrane or with the classical volumetric method.