Determination of phenylephrine hydrochloride by flow injection analysis with chemiluminescence detection

A new method is proposed for the determination of phenylephrine hydrochloride by flow injection analysis with direct chemiluminescence detection. The method is based on the oxidation of the drug by potassium permanganate in sulfuric acid medium at 80 degrees C. The calibration graph is linear over the range 0.03-8 ppm phenylephrine hydrochloride, with a relative standard deviation (n = 51, 0.5 ppm) of 1.1% and sample throughput of 134/h. The influence of 38 different foreign compounds was tested, and the method was applied to the determination of phenylephrine hydrochloride in 8 different pharmaceutical formulations.