Development and validation of column high-performance liquid chromatographic and ultraviolet spectrophotometric methods for citalopram in tablets

Column high-performance liquid chromatographic (LC) and UV spectrophotometric methods for the quantitative determination of citalopram, a potent and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, in tablets were developed. The parameters linearity, precision, accuracy, specificity, robustness, limit of detection, and limit of quantitation were studied according to International Conference on Harmonization guidelines. Chromatography was carried out by the reversed-phase technique on an ACE C18 column with a mobile phase composed of 0.30% triethylamine solution-acetonitrile (55 + 45, v/v) adjusted to pH 6.6 with 10% ortho-phosphoric acid at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min and 25 degrees C. The UV spectrophotometric method was performed at 239 nm. The linearity of the LC method was in the range of 10.00-70.00 microg/mL, and 2.50-17.50 microg/mL for the UV spectrophotometric method. The interday and intraday assay precision was < 1.5% (relative standard deviation) for the LC and UV spectrophotometric methods. The recoveries were in the range 100.70-101.35% for the LC method and 98.48-98.65% for the UV spectrophotometric method. Statistical analysis by Student's t-test showed no significant difference between the results obtained by the 2 methods. The proposed methods are highly sensitive, precise, and accurate and can be used for the reliable quantitation of citalopram in tablets.