Stability-indicating methods for determination of tiapride in pure form, pharmaceutical preparation, and human plasma

Four different stability-indicating procedures are described for determination of tiapride in pure form, dosage form, and human plasma. Second derivative (D2), first derivative of ratio spectra (1DD), spectrofluorimetric, and high-performance column liquid chromatographic (LC) methods are proposed for determination of tiapride in presence of its acid-induced degradation products, namely 2-methoxy-5-(methylsulfonyl) benzoic acid and 2-diethylaminoethylamine. These approaches were successfully applied to quantify tiapride using the information included in the absorption, excitation, and emission spectra of the appropriate solutions. In the D2 method, Beer's law was obeyed in the concentration range of 1.5-9 microg/mL with a mean recovery of 99.94 +/- 1.38% at 253.4 nm using absolute ethanol as a solvent. In 1DD, which is based on the simultaneous use of the first derivative of ratio spectra and measurement at 245 nm in absolute ethanolic solution, Beer's law was obeyed over a concentration range of 1.5-9 microg/mL with mean recovery 99.64 +/- 1.08%. The spectrofluorimetric method is based on the determination of tiapride native fluorescence at 339 nm emission wavelength and 230 nm excitation wavelength using water-methanol (8 + 2, v/v). The calibration curve was linear over the range of 0.2-3 microg/mL with mean recovery of 99.66 +/- 1.46%. This method was also applied for determination of tiapride in human plasma. A reversed-phase LC method performed at ambient temperature was validated for determination of tiapride using methanol-deionized water-triethylamine (107 + 93 + 0.16, v/v/v) as the mobile phase. Sulpiride was used as an internal standard at a flow rate of 1 mL/min with ultraviolet detection at 214 nm. A linear relation was obtained over a concentration range of 2-30 microg/mL with mean recovery of 99.66 +/- 0.9%. Results were statistically analyzed and compared with those obtained by applying the reference method. They proved both accuracy and precision.     

Spectrophotometric and spectrodensitometric determination of paracetamol and drotaverine HCl in combination

Thin-layer chromatography, first derivative, ratio spectra derivative spectrophotometry and Vierordt's method have been developed for the simultaneous determination of paracetamol and drotaverine HCl. TLC densitometric method depends on the difference in Rf values using ethyl acetate:methanol:ammonia (100:1:5 v/v/v) as a mobile phase. The spots of the two drugs were scanned at 249 and 308 nm over concentration ranges of 60-1200 microg/ml and 20-400 microg/ml with mean percentage recovery 100.11%+/-1.91 and 100.15%+/-1.87, respectively. The first derivative spectrophotometric method deals with the measurements at zero-crossing points 259 and 325 nm with mean percentage recovery 99.25%+/-1.08 and 99.45%+/-1.14, respectively. The ratio spectra first derivative technique was used at 246 and 305 nm with mean percentage recovery 99.75%+/-1.93 and 99.08%+/-1.22, respectively. Beer's law for first derivative and ratio spectra derivative methods was obeyed in the concentration range 0.8-12.8 and 0.4-6.4 microg/ml of paracetamol and drotaverine HCl, respectively. Vierordt's method was applied to over come the overlapping of paracetamol and drotaverine HCl in zero-order spectra in concentration range 2-26 and 2-40 microg/ml respectively. The suggested methods were successfully applied for the analysis of the two drugs in laboratory prepared mixtures and their pharmaceutical formulation. The validity of the methods was assessed by applying the standard addition technique. The obtained results were statistically agreed with those obtained by the reported method.     

Spectrophotometric stability-indicating methods for the determination of leflunomide in the presence of its degradates

Five simple and sensitive methods were developed for the determination of leflunomide (I) in the presence of its degradates 4-trifluoromethyl aniline (II) and 3-methyl-4-carboxy isoxazole (III). Method A was based on differential derivative spectrophotometry by measuring the delta(1)D value at 279.5 nm. Beer's law was obeyed in the concentration range of 2.00-20.00 microg/mL with mean percentage accuracy of 100.07 +/- 1.32. Method B depended on first-derivative spectrophotometry and measuring the amplitude at 253.4 nm. Beer's law was obeyed in the concentration range of 2.00-16.00 microg/mL with mean percentage accuracy of 98.42 +/- 1.61. Method C was based on the reaction of degradate (II) with 2,6-dichloroquinone-4-chloroimide (Gibbs reagent). The colored product was measured at 469 nm. Method D depended on the reaction of degradate (II) with para-dimethyl aminocinnamaldehyde (p-DAC). The absorbance of the colored product was measured at 533.4 nm. Method E utilized 3-methyl-2-benzothiazolinone hydrazone in the presence of cerric ammonium sulfate with degradate (II). The green colored product was measured at 605.5 nm. The linearity range was 40.00-280.00, 2.40-24.00, and 30-250 microg/mL with mean percentage accuracy of 100.75 +/- 1.21, 100.13 +/- 1.45, and 99.74 +/- 1.39 for Methods C-E, respectively. All variables were studied to optimize the reaction conditions. The proposed methods have been successfully applied to the analysis of leflunomide in pharmaceutical dosage forms and the results were statistically compared with that previously reported.     

Spectrophotometric and spectrodensitometric determination of Clopidogrel Bisulfate with kinetic study of its alkaline degradation

Four sensitive, selective and precise stability-indicating methods for the determination of Clopidogrel Bisulfate (CLP) in presence of its alkaline degradate and in pharmaceutical formulations were developed and validated. Method A is a second derivative (D²) spectrophotometric one, which allows the determination of CLP in presence of its alkaline degradate at 219.6, 270.6, 274.2 and 278.4 nm (corresponding to zero-crossing of the degradate) over a concentration range of 4-37 μg mL⁻¹ with mean percentage recoveries 99.81 ± 0.893, 99.72 ± 0.668, 99.88 ± 0.526 and 100.46 ± 0.646, respectively. CLP can be determined in the presence of up to 65% of its degradate. D² method was used to study the kinetic of CLP alkaline degradation that was found to follow a first-order reaction. The t_1/2 was 6.42 h while K (reaction rate constant) was 0.1080 mol/h. Method B is the first derivative of the ratio spectra (DD¹) spectrophotometric method, by measuring the peak amplitude at 217.6 and 229.4 nm using acetonitrile and CLP can be determined in the presence of up to 70% of its degradate. The linearity range was 5-38 μg mL⁻¹ with mean percentage recoveries 99.88 ± 0.909 and 99.70 ± 0.952, respectively. Method C based on the determination of CLP by the bivariate calibration depending on simple mathematic algorithm which provides simplicity and rapidity. The method depends on quantitative evaluation of the absorbance at 210 and 225 nm over a concentration range 5-38 μg mL⁻¹ with mean percentage recovery 99.27 ± 1.115. CLP can be determined in the presence of up to 70% of its degradate. Method D is a TLC-densitometric one, where CLP was separated from its degradate on silica gel plates using hexane:methanol:ethyl acetate (8.7:1:0.3, v/v/v) as a developing system. This method depends on quantitative densitometric evaluation of thin layer chromatogram of CLP at 248 nm over a concentration range of 0.6-3 μg/band with mean percentage recovery 99.97 ± 1.161. CLP can be determined in the presence of up to 90% of its alkaline degradate. The selectivity of the proposed methods was checked using laboratory prepared mixtures. The proposed methods have been successfully applied to the analysis of CLP in pharmaceutical dosage forms without interference from other dosage form additives and the results were statistically compared with the official method.     

Determination of trimetazidine dihydrochloride in the presence of its acid-induced degradation products

Three methods are presented for the determination of trimetazidine dihydrochloride in the presence of its acid-induced degradation products. The first method was based on measurement of first-derivative D1 value of trimetazidine dihydrochloride at 282 nm over a concentration range of 8.00-56.00 microg/mL with mean percentage accuracy of 99.80+/-1.17. The second method was based on first derivative of the ratio spectra DD1 at 282 nm over the same concentration range with the percentage accuracy of 99.14+/-0.68. The third method was based on separation of trimetazidine dihydrochloride from its acid-induced degradation products followed by densitometric measurement of the spots at 215 nm. The separation was performed on silica gel 60 F254 using methanol-ammonia (100+/-1.5, v/v) as mobile phase. This method was applicable for determination of the intact drug in the presence of its degradation products over a concentration range of 2.00-9.00 microg/spot with mean percentage accuracy of 99.86+/-0.92. The proposed methods were successfully applied for the determination of trimetazidine dihydrochloride in bulk powder, laboratory-prepared mixtures containing different percentages of degradation products, and pharmaceutical dosage forms. The validity of results was assessed by applying the standard addition technique. The results obtained agreed statistically with those obtained by the reported method.     

Development and validation of three stability-indicating methods for determination of bisacodyl in pure form and pharmaceutical preparations

Three new, simple, sensitive, and accurate stability-indicating methods were developed for quantitative determination of bisacodyl in the presence of its degradation products, monoacetyl bisacodyl (I) and desacetyl bisacodyl (II), in enteric coated tablets, suppositories, and raw material. The first is a spectrodensitometric method in which the drug is separated from I and II on silica gel plates using chloroform-acetone (9 + 1, v/v) as the mobile phase with ultraviolet detection of the separated bands at 223 nm over a concentration range of 0.2-1.4 microg/band for bisacodyl with mean recovery 100.35 +/- 1.923%. The second method is fourth derivative D4 spectrophotometry, which allows determination of bisacodyl in the presence of its degradation products in raw material at 223 nm using acetonitrile as the solvent with adherence to Beer's law over the concentration range 2-18 microg/mL with mean recovery 99.77+/-1.056%. In the third method, the spectrophotometric data of bisacodyl, I, and II using absolute ethanol as solvent were processed by 3 chemometric techniques: classical least-squares, principal component regression, and partial least-squares. A training set consisting of 15 mixtures containing different ratios of bisacodyl, I, and II was used for construction of the 3 models. A validation set consisting of 6 mixtures was used to validate the prediction ability of the suggested models. The 3 chemometric methods were applicable over a concentration range between 2-14microg/mL for bisacodyl with mean recovery of 99.97+/-0.865, 100.01 +/- 0.749, and 99.97 +/- 0.616% for the 3 models, respectively. The proposed methods were checked using laboratory-prepared mixtures and were successfully applied to the analysis of raw material and pharmaceutical formulations containing bisacodyl, except for the second method that applies only for raw material. The validity of the suggested procedures was further assessed by applying the standard addition technique; the recoveries obtained were in accordance with those given by the reference method.     

Determination of nifuroxazide and drotaverine hydrochloride in pharmaceutical preparations by three independent analytical methods

Three new, different, simple, sensitive, and accurate methods were developed for quantitative determination of nifuroxazide (I) and drotaverine hydrochloride (II) in a binary mixture. The first method was spectrophotometry, which allowed determination of I in the presence of II using a zero-order spectrum with an analytically useful maximum at 364.5 nm that obeyed Beer's law over a concentration range of 2-10 microg/mL with mean percentage recovery of 100.08 +/- 0.61. Determination of II in presence of I was obtained by second derivative spectrophotometry at 243.6 nm, which obeyed Beer's law over a concentration range of 2-10 microg/mL with mean recovery of 99.82 +/- 1.46%. The second method was spectrodensitometry, with which both drugs were separated on a silica gel plate using chloroform-acetone-methanol-glacial acetic acid (6 + 3 + 0.9 + 0.1) as the mobile phase and ultraviolet (UV) detection at 365 nm over a concentration range of 0.2-1 microg/band for both drugs, with mean recoveries of 99.99 +/- 0.15 and 100.00 +/- 0.34% for I and II, respectively. The third method was reversed-phase liquid chromatography using acetonitrile-water (40 + 60, v/v; adjusted to pH 2.55 with orthophosphoric acid) as the mobile phase and pentoxifylline as the internal standard at a flow rate of 1 mU/min with UV detection at 285 nm at ambient temperature over a concentration range of 2-10 microg/mL for both drugs, with mean recoveries of 100.24 +/- 1.51 and 100.08 +/- 0.78% for I and II, respectively. The proposed methods were checked using laboratory-prepared mixtures and were successfully applied for the analysis of pharmaceutical formulations containing the above drugs with no interference from other dosage form additives. The validity of the suggested procedures was further assessed by applying the standard addition technique which was found to be satisfactory, and the percentage recoveries obtained were in accordance with those given by the EVA Pharma reference spectrophotometric method.     

Spectrophotometric determination of some drugs for osteoporosis

Three simple, accurate and sensitive spectrophotometric methods are developed for the determination of some new drugs for the treatment of osteoporosis: risedronate sodium (I), alendronate sodium (II) and etidronate disodium (III). The first method is based on the measurement of difference in absorbance (Delta A) of risedronate sodium in 0.01 mol l(-1) hydrochloric and 0.1 mol l(-1) sodium hydroxide at 262 nm. Beer's law is obeyed over a concentration range of 15-150 microg ml(-1) with mean recovery 99.75+/-1.22 and molar absorptivity (epsilon) 1.891 x 10(3). The second method is based on the reaction of the primary amino group of (II) with ninhydrin reagent in methanolic medium in the presence of 0.05 mol l(-1) sodium bicarbonate. The colored product is measured at 568 nm, and the linearity range is found to be 3.75-45 microg ml(-1) with mean recovery 99.77+/-0.73 and epsilon 9.425 x 10(3). The third method is based on oxidation of the three mentioned drugs with ceric (IV) sulphate in 0.5 mol l(-1) sulphuric acid at room temperature and subsequent measurement of the excess unreacted cerium (IV) sulphate at 320 nm. The method obeyed Beer's law over a concentration range of 2-24 microg ml(-1) for the three drugs with mean recovery 99.79+/-1.16, 99.73+/-1.38 and 99.86+/-1.13 and epsilon 14.427 x 10(3), 13.813 x 10(3) and 14.000 x 10(3) for drugs I, II, III respectively. The proposed methods were successfully applied for the determination of the studied drugs in bulk powder and in pharmaceutical formulations. The results were found to agree statistically with those obtained the reported methods. Furthermore, the methods were validated according to USP regulations and also assessed by applying the standard addition technique.     

Development and validation of spectrophotometric, TLC and HPLC methods for the determination of lamotrigine in presence of its impurity

Three reliable, rapid and selective methods have been developed and validated for the determination of lamotrigine in the presence of its impurity, 2,3-dichlorobenzoic acid. The first method is spectrophotometric method using p-chloranilic acid forming a colored product with lambda(max) 519+/-2 nm. All variables affecting the reaction have been investigated and the conditions were optimized. Beer's law was obeyed over a concentration range of 10-200 microg ml(-1) with mean accuracy 100.13+/-0.44%. The molar ratio of the formed ion-association complex is found to be 1 : 1 as deduced by Job's method. The conditional stability constant (K(f)), standard free energy (DeltaG), molar absorptivity(epsilon), and sensitivity index were evaluated. The second method is based on TLC separation of the cited drug (Rf=0.75+/-0.01) from its impurity (Rf=0.23+/-0.01) followed by densitometric measurement of the intact drug spots at 275 nm. The separation was carried on silica gel plates using ethyl acetate : methanol : ammonia 35% (17 : 2 : 1 v/v/v) as a mobile phase. The linearity range was 0.5-10 microg/spot with mean accuracy 99.99+/-1.33%. The third method is accurate and sensitive stability-indicating HPLC method based on separation of lamotrigine from its impurity on a reversed phase C(18) column, using a mobile phase of acetonitrile : methanol : 0.01 M potassium orthophosphate (pH 6.7+/-0.1) (30 : 20 : 50 v/v/v) at ambient temperature 25+/-5 degrees C and UV detection at 275 nm in an overall analysis time of about 6 min., based on peak area. The injection repeatability, intraday and interday repeatability were calculated. The procedure provided a linear response over the concentration range 1-12 microg ml(-1) with mean accuracy of 99.50+/-1.30%. The proposed methods were successfully applied for the determination of lamotrigine in bulk powder, in dosage form and in presence of its impurity. The results obtained were analyzed by ANOVA to assess that no significant difference between each of the three methods and the reported one. The validation was performed according to USP guidelines.     

New methods for determination of cinnarizine in mixture with piracetam by spectrodensitometry, spectrophotometry, and liquid chromatography

Four new methods were developed and validated for the determination of cinnarizine HCl in its binary mixture with piracetam in pure and pharmaceutical preparations. The first one was a densitometric analysis that provides a simple and rapid method for the separation and quantification of cinnarizine HCI. The method depends on the quantitative densitometric evaluation of thin-layer chromatograms of cinnarizine HCI at 252 nm over concentration range of 1-6 microg/spot, with a mean accuracy of 100.05 +/- 0.91%. The second method was determination of the drug using a colorimetric method that utilizes the reaction of 3-methyl-benzothiazolin-2-one in the presence of FeCl3 as an oxidant. The green color of the resulting product was measured at 630 nm over concentration range 10-40 microg/mL, with a mean accuracy of 100.10 +/- 1.13%. The third method was a direct spectrophotometric determination of cinnarizine HCI at 252 nm over the concentration range 7-20 microg/mL, while piracetam was determined by derivative ratio spectrophotometry at 221.6 nm over concentration range 5-30 microg/mL, with a mean accuracy of 100.14 +/- 0.79 and 100.26 +/- 1.24% for cinnarizine HCI and piracetam, respectively. The last method was a liquid chromatography analysis of both cinnarizine HCI and piracetam, depending on quantitative evaluation of chromatograms of cinnarizine HCI and piracetam at 252 and 212 nm, respectively, over the concentration range 10-200 microg/mL for cinnarizine HCI and 20-500 microg/mL for piracetam, with a mean accuracy of 100.03 +/- 0.89 and 100.40 +/- 0.94% for cinnarizine HCI and piracetam, respectively. The proposed procedures were checked using laboratory-prepared mixtures and successfully applied for the analysis of their pharmaceutical preparations. The validity of the proposed procedures was further assessed by applying the standard addition technique. Recoveries were quantitative, and the results obtained agreed with those obtained by other reported methods.     

Development and validation of reversed-phase column high-performance liquid chromatographic and first-derivative UV spectrophotometric methods for estimation of voriconazole in oral suspension powder

This research paper describes validated reversed-phase high-performance column liquid chromatographic (RP-HPLC) and first-derivative UV spectrophotometric methods for the estimation of voriconazole (VOR) in oral suspension powder. The RP-HPLC separation was achieved on Phenomenex C18 column (250 x 4.6 mm id, 5 microm particle size) using water-acetonitrile (40 + 60, v/v; pH adjusted to 4.5 +/- 0.02 with acetic acid) as the mobile phase at a flow rate of 1.4 mL/min and ambient temperature. Quantification was achieved with photodiode array detection at 255 nm over the concentration range of 0.1-1 microg/mL with mean recovery of 99.49 +/- 0.83% for VOR by the RP-HPLC method. Quantification was achieved with UV detection at 266 nm over the concentration range of 8-20 microg/mL with mean recovery of 99.74 +/- 0.664% for VOR by the first-derivative UV spectrophotometric method. These methods are simple, precise, and sensitive, and they are applicable for the determination of VOR in oral suspension powder.     

Spectrophotometric, spectrofluorometric and HPLC determination of desloratadine in dosage forms and human plasma

Four sensitive, simple and specific methods were developed for the determination of desloratadine (DSL), a new antihistaminic drug in pharmaceutical preparations and biological fluids. Methods I and II are based on coupling DSL with 4-chloro-7-nitrobenzo-2-oxa-1,3-diazole (NBD-Cl) in borate buffer of pH 7.6 where a yellow colored reaction product was obtained and measured spectrophotometrically at 485 nm (Method I). The same product could be measured spectrofluorometrically at 538 nm after excitation at 480 nm (Method II). Methods III and IV, on the other hand, involved derivatization of DSL with 2,4-dinitrofluorobenzene (DNFB) in borate buffer of pH 9.0 producing a yellow colored product that absorbs maximally at 375 nm (Method III). The same derivative was determined after separation adopting HPLC (Method IV). The separation was performed on a column packed with cyanopropyl bonded stationary phase equilibrated with a mobile phase composed of acetonitrile-water (60 : 40, v/v) at a flow rate of 1.0 ml min(-1) with UV detection at 375 nm. The calibration curves were linear over the concentration ranges of 0.5-6, 0.02-0.4, 1-10 and 1-30 microg ml(-1) for Methods I, II, III and IV, respectively. The lower detection limits (LOD) were 0.112, 0.004, 0.172 and 0.290 microg ml(-1), respectively, for the four methods. The limits of quantification (LOQ) were 0.340, 0.012, 0.522 and 0.890 microg ml(-1) for Methods I, II, III and IV, respectively. The proposed methods were applied to the determination of desloratadine in its tablets and the results were in agreement with those obtained using a reference method. Furthermore, the spectrofluorometric method (Method II) was extended to the in-vitro determination of the drug in spiked human plasma, with a mean percentage recovery (n=4) of 99.7+/-3.54. Interference arising from endogenous amino acids has been overcome using solid phase extraction. The proposed methods are highly specific for determination of DSL in the presence of the parent drug loratadine. A proposal for the reaction pathways is postulated.     

Stability indicating methods for determination of Donepezil Hydrochloride according to ICH guidelines

Stability indicating assays for determination of Donepezil Hydrochloride in presence of its oxidative degradate were developed and validated. The first three are spectrophotometric methods depending on using zero order (D(0)), first order (D(1)) and second order (D(2)) spectra. The absorbance was measured at 315 nm for (D(0)) while the amplitude was measured at 332.1nm for (D(1)) and 340 nm for (D(2)) using deionized water as a solvent. Donepezil Hydrochloride (I) can be determined in the presence of up to 70% of its oxidative degradate (II) using (D(0)), 80% using (D(1)) and 90% using (D(2)). The linearity range was found to be 8-56 microg ml(-1) for (D(0)), (D(1)) and (D(2)). These methods were applied for the analysis of I in both powder and tablet form. Also, a spectrofluorimetric method depending on measuring the native fluorescence of I in deionized water using lambda excitation 226 nm and lambda emission 391 nm is suggested. The linearity range was found to be 0.32-3.20 microg ml(-1) using this method, I was determined in the presence of up to 90% of II. The proposed method was applied for the analysis of I in tablet form as well as in human plasma. The last method depends on using TLC separation of I from its oxidative degradate II and I was then determined spectrodensitometrically. The mobile phase was methanol : chloroform : 25% ammonia (16 : 64 : 0.1 by volume). The linearity range was found to be 2-15 microg/spot. This method was applied to the analysis of I in both powder and tablet form using acetonitrile as a solvent.     

Stability indicating reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic and thin layer densitometric methods for the determination of ziprasidone in bulk powder and in pharmaceutical formulations

Two sensitive and reproducible methods were developed and validated for the determination of ziprasidone (ZIP) in the presence of its degradation products in pure form and in pharmaceutical formulations. The fi rst method was based on reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), on a Lichrosorb RP C(18) column using water:acetonitrile:phosphoric acid (76:24:0.5 v/v/v) as the mobile phase at a fl ow rate of 1.5 mL min(-1) at ambient temperature. Quantification was achieved with UV detection at 229 nm over a concentration range of 10-500 micro g mL(-1) with mean percentage recovery of 99.71 +/- 0.55. The method retained its accuracy in presence of up to 90% of ZIP degradation products. The second method was based on TLC separation of ZIP from its degradation products followed by densitometric measurement of the intact drug spot at 247 nm. The separation was carried out on aluminium sheet of silica gel 60 F(254) using choloroform:methanol:glacial acetic acid (75:5:4.5 v/v/v) as the mobile phase, over a concentration range of 1-10 micro g per spot and mean percentage recovery of 99.26 +/- 0.39. Both methods were applied successfully to laboratory prepared mixtures and pharmaceutical capsules.     

Spectrofluorimetric determination of paroxetine hydrochloride in its formulations and human plasma

A sensitive spectrofluorimetric procedure for the determination of paroxetine-HCl in pharmaceutical formulations and human plasma has been described. The native fluorescence of the drug has been studied under different conditions. Maximum fluorescence intensity was obtained in methanol at 340 nm using 290 nm for excitation. Different surfactants showed negative effect on the fluorescence intensity of paroxetine-HCl. Regression analysis of Beer's plot showed good correlation (r=0.9999) between fluorescence intensity and concentration over the range of 0.05-0.40 microg ml-1 with lower limit of detection (LOD) of 0.015 microg ml-1. The drug was successfully determined in its tablets with average % recovery of 98.00+/-0.99% which was in accordance with those given by a compendial method. The method was also applied to the determination of paroxetine-HCl in spiked human plasma with average recovery of 77.70+/-1.06%.     

Specific thin-layer chromatographic method for the determination of theophylline in plasma in the presence of some other drugs.

A simple spectrodensitometric method for the direct determination of theophylline was developed from measurement of the absorbance of the compound on silica gel layers irradiated at 275 nm. Auantities as low as 0.010 mug can be detected and a linear relationship was obtained between peak area and the amount of the drug in the spots from 0.025-0.200 mug. The recovery over the usual range of plasma concentration (2.5-20 mug/ml) was 95-107%. The method is sufficiently sensitive and specific for clinical purposes and the time for the assay is about 2 h. Caffeine, frequently present in human plasma, was well separated from theophylline at all concentration levels as were several other drugs commonly used in respiratory problems.     

Stability indicating methods for the determination of norfloxacin in mixture with tinidazole

Three stability indicating assay methods are developed for the determination of norfloxacin (Nor) in the presence of its decarboxylated degradation product and in mixture with tinidazole (Tnd). The proposed methods are reversed phase ion pair liquid chromatography (LC), thin layer densitometry (TLC) and second derivative ratio spectra zero crossing spectrophotometry ((2)DD). Chromatographic separation was achieved on mu-Bondapack C18 column 5 microm (300 mm x 3.9 mm, I.D.) and precoated silica gel TLC stationary phases for LC and TLC methods, respectively. Mobile phases consisting of phosphate buffer pH 3.2 : methanol (3 : 1, v/v) containing 0.005 M pentane sulfonic acid sodium salt and isopropanol : butanol : concentrated ammonia : water (25 : 50 : 5 : 25, v/v/v/v) were used for resolution of Nor and Tnd by both techniques, respectively. Detection was carried at 280 nm. In the ratio spectra method, detection of Nor was carried at 282 nm. Linearity, accuracy and precision were found to be acceptable over concentration ranges of 20-225 microg/ml, 0.8-4 microg/spot and 1-7 microg/ml for Nor by LC, TLC and (2)DD methods and over concentration ranges of 37.5-375 microg/ml and 4.8-20 microg/spot for Tnd by LC and TLC methods respectively. The suggested methods were successfully applied for the determination of both drugs in bulk powder, laboratory prepared mixtures and in commercial samples. Statistical comparison between the results obtained by the proposed and the reference methods was carried out using Student t-test, F ratio and one way ANOVA.     

Simultaneous assay of olanzapine and fluoxetine in tablets by column high-performance liquid chromatography and high-performance thin-layer chromatography

This paper describes validated high-performance liquid chromatographic (LC) and high-performance thin-layer chromatographic (TLC) methods for the simultaneous estimation of olanzapine and fluoxetine in pure powder and tablet formulations. The LC separation was achieved on a Lichrospher 100 RP-180, C18 column (250 mm, 4.0 mm id, 5 microm) using 0.05 M potassium dihydrogen phosphate buffer (pH 5.6 adjusted with o-phosphoric acid)-acetonitrile (50 + 50, v/v) as the mobile phase at a flow rate of 1 mL/min and ambient temperature. The TLC separation was achieved on aluminum sheets coated with silica gel 60F254 using methanol-toluene (40 + 20, v/v) as the mobile phase. Quantitation was achieved by measuring ultraviolet absorption at 233 nm over the concentration range of 10-70 and 40-280 microg/mL with mean recovery of 99.54 +/- 0.89 and 99.73 +/- 0.58% for olanzapine and fluoxetine, respectively, by the LC method. Quantitation was achieved by measuring ultraviolet absorption at 233 nm over the concentration range of 100-800 and 400-3200 ng/spot with mean recovery of 101.53 +/- 0.06 and 101.45 +/- 0.35% for olanzapine and fluoxetine, respectively, by the TLC method with densitometry. These methods are simple, precise, and sensitive, and they are applicable for simultaneous determination of olanzapine and fluoxetine in tablet formulations.     

Simultaneous determination of piracetam and vincamine by spectrophotometric and high-performance liquid chromatographic methods

A mixture of piracetam and vincamine was determined by 3 different methods. The first was the determination of piracetam and vincamine using the ratio-spectra first-derivative (DD1) spectrophotometric technique at 209 and 293 nm in concentration ranges of 10-45 and 2-14 microg/mL with mean recoveries of 99.22 +/- 0.72 and 99.67 +/- 0.79%, respectively. The second method was based on the resolution of the 2 components by bivariate calibration depending on a mathematic algorithm that provides simplicity and rapidity. The method depended on quantitative evaluation of the absorbencies at 210 and 225 nm in concentration ranges of 5-45 and 2-14 microg/mL, with mean recoveries of 100.33 +/- 0.54 and 100.44 +/- 0.98% for piracetam and vincamine, respectively. The third method was reversed-phase liquid chromatography using 0.05 M potassium dihydrogen phosphate-methanol (50 + 50, v/v) as the mobile phase, with the pH adjusted to 3.5 with phosphoric acid. The eluent was monitored at 215 nm in concentration ranges of 5-100 and 2-200 microg/mL, with mean recoveries of 99.62 +/- 0.67 and 99.32 +/- 0.85% for piracetam and vincamine, respectively. The suggested procedures were checked using laboratory-prepared mixtures and were successfully applied for the analysis of their pharmaceutical preparation. The methods retained their accuracy and precision when applying the standard addition technique. The results obtained by applying the proposed methods were statistically analyzed and compared with those obtained by the manufacturer's method.