Single-sweep polarography of the copper(II)-3-hydroxy-1-p-sulphonatophenyl-3-phenyltriazene complex and its analytical applications.

A polarographic investigation of the copper-3-hydroxy-1-p-sulphonatophenyl-3-phenyltriazene (HSPT) complex in 0.05 M sodium tetraborate medium is described and a simple and sensitive single-sweep polarographic method for the determination of trace amounts of copper in biological samples is proposed. The complex was shown to be Cu(HSPT)2 with log beta' = 11.38. The polarographic wave is caused by the reduction of copper(II) in the adsorbed complex to copper amalgam on the surface of a mercury electrode. The current peak is directly proportional to the concentration of copper in the range 8.0 x 10(-9)-4.0 x 10(-6) M and the detection limit is 5.0 x 10(-9) M.