UV/Vis absorption spectroelectrochemistry is a very promising analytical technique due to the complementary information
that is simultaneously obtained from electrochemistry and spectroscopy. In this work, this technique is used in a parallel
configuration to study the oxidation of folic acid in alkaline medium. Herein, UV/Vis absorption spectroelectrochemistry
has been used to detect both the oxidation products and the folic acid consumed at the electrode/solution interface, allowing
us to develop an analytical protocol to quantify vitamin B9 in pharmaceutical tablets. Linear ranges of three orders of
magnitude have been achieved in basic medium (pH = 12.9), obtaining high repeatability and low detection limits. The
spectroelectrochemical determination of folic acid in pharmaceutical tablets at alkaline pH values is particularly interesting
because of the changes that occur in the optical signal during the electrochemical oxidation of FA, providing results with
very good figures of merit and demonstrating the utility and versatility of this hyphenated technique, UV/Vis absorption
spectroelectrochemistry.
