A carbon paste electrode (CPE) modified with thionine immobilized on multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT), was prepared for simultaneous determination of ascorbic acid (AA) and acetaminophen (AC) in the presence of isoniazid (INZ). The electrochemical response characteristics of the modified electrode toward AA, AC and INZ were investigated by cyclic and differential pulse voltammetry (CV and DPV). The results showed an efficient catalytic role for the electro-oxidation of AA and AC, leading to a remarkable peak resolution (similar to 303 mV) for two compounds. On the other hand, the presence of INZ, which is considered as important drug interference for AC, does not affect the voltammetric responses of these pharmaceuticals. The mechanism of the modified electrode was analyzed by monitoring the CVs at various potential sweep rates and pHs of the buffer solutions. Under the optimum conditions, the calibration curves for AA, AC and INZ were obtained in the range of 1 x 10(-6) to 1 x 10(-4) M, 1 x 10(-7) to 1 x 10(-4) M and 1 x 10(-6) to 1 x 10(-4) M, respectively. The prepared modified electrode shows several advantages such as simple preparation method, high sensitivity, long-time stability, ease of preparation and regeneration of the electrode surface by simple polishing and excellent reproducibility. The proposed method was applied to determination of AA, AC and INZ in commercial drugs and in plasma samples and the obtained results were satisfactory. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.