Optimization of variables
1 mL of working solution was mixed with 1 mL acetate buffer solution of pH = 3 and 1 mL of bromophenol blue solution/2 mL thymol blue solution. Then the complex was extracted with CCl4, chloroform and dichloromethane and the absorbances were measured at 448 nm/418 nm.
Because the maximum absorbance was obtained with chloroform (
Table 1), it was chosen as extraction solvent.
| Solvents | Absorbance ± SD
|
|---|
| Bromophenol blue | Thymol blue |
|---|
| CCl4 | - | - |
| Chloroform | 1. 0896 ± 0.003 | 0.8796 ± 0.007 |
| Dichloromethane | 0.4315 ± 0.036 | 0.2673 ± 0.005 |
1 mL bromophenol blue solution/2 mL thymol blue solution was added to the 1 mL working solution and the pH was adjusted to pH = 3, pH = 4.6 and pH = 5. After extraction, the absorbances were recorded at different time intervals. The results are represented in
Figure 2 and
Figure 3.
Selection of pH dependence and reaction time for method with bromophenol blue solution.
Selection of pH dependence and reaction time for method with thymol blue solution.
As it can be seen, the optimal stabilities of the formed complexes were obtained at pH = 3 with both dyes and the optimum reaction time was 30 min for bromophenol blue solution method and 20 min for thymol blue solution method.
The influence of the concentration of dyes and the quantity used are presented in
Table 2 and
Table 3.
| Dyes | 0.05% | 0.1% | 0.5% |
|---|
| Bromophenol blue solution | 0.1955 | 0.6911 | 0.5425 |
| Thymol blue solution | 0.4825 | 0.5862 | 0.3602 |
| Dyes | 0.5 mL | 1 mL | 1.5 mL | 2 mL | 2.5 mL |
|---|
| Bromophenol blue solution | 0.2132 | 0.6763 | 0.6752 | 0.6743 | 0.6729 |
| Thymol blue solution | - | 0.5862 | 0.7108 | 0.8856 | 0.8662 |
The optimum concentration of the two dyes used was 0.1% and the quantity of dye was established at 1 mL for bromophenol blue solution and 2 mL for thymol blue solution.
Validation of methods
Three determinations for each concentration were made and a mean value of the absorbances read at 448 nm/418 nm was calculated (
Table 4). The calibration curves were obtained by plotting the mean values of the absorbances of clonidine hydrochloride
vs clonidine hydrochloride concentrations (μg/mL) and are presented in
Figure 4 and
Figure 5.
| Statistical data | Method with bromophenol blue solution | Method with thymol blue solution |
|---|
| Pearson Coefficient (r2) | 0.999 | 0.9995 |
| Standard Error | 0.012978 | 0.003889 |
| Intercept | 0.4628 | 0.6213 |
| Slope | 0.1245 | 0.0528 |
| Limit of detection | 0.039115 | 0.011721 |
| Limit of quantification | 0.11853 | 0.035519 |
Calibration curve for clonidine hydrochloride with bromophenol blue solution
Calibration curve for clonidine hydrochloride with thymol blue solution
Statistical data regarding clonidine hydrochloride determination are shown in
Table 5.
| Statistical data | Method with bromophenol blue solution | Method with thymol blue solution |
|---|
| Pearson Coefficient (r2) | 0.999 | 0.9995 |
| Standard Error | 0.012978 | 0.003889 |
| Intercept | 0.4628 | 0.6213 |
| Slope | 0.1245 | 0.0528 |
| Limit of detection | 0.039115 | 0.011721 |
| Limit of quantification | 0.11853 | 0.035519 |
For determination of repeatability, solutions at concentrations of 1.5 μg/mL in six replicates were used. The absorbances were measured and then the average, SD and % RSD were calculated.
Table 6 shows the experimental data of the absorbances related to the precision of the system.
| No | Absorbance
|
|---|
| Method with bromophenol blue solution | Method with thymol blue solution |
|---|
| 1. | 0.6759 | 0.7028 |
| 2. | 0.6692 | 0.6999 |
| 3. | 0.6649 | 0.6983 |
| 4. | 0.6703 | 0.7058 |
| 5. | 0.6732 | 0.711 |
| 6. | 0.6697 | 0.7037 |
| Average | 0.6705 | 0.7035 |
| SD | 0.0037 | 0.0045 |
| % RSD | 0.5587 | 0.6420 |
Relative standard deviation (RSD) was found to be 0.5587% and 0.6420% respectively, which is lower than the maximum 2% proposed by the European standards, so the system is considered to be precise.
To investigate the method precision, solutions of three concentration levels were chosen and three determinations were made for each of them.
Tables 7 and
8 present the calculated concentrations and the recovery of the methods in the same day, at different times (8.00 a.m., 12.00 a.m. and 16.00 p.m.) and in 3 consecutive days (day 1, 2 and 3).
Method with bromophenol blue solution
|
|---|
8.00 a.m.
| 12.00 a.m.
| 16.00 a.m.
|
|---|
| Abs | Calc. conc. | % Recovery | Abs | Calc. conc. | % Recovery | Abs | Calc. conc. | % Recovery |
|---|
| 0.6495 | 1.4995 | 99.97 | 0.6499 | 1.5028 | 100.18 | 0.6489 | 1.4947 | 99.65 |
| 0.6488 | 1.4939 | 99.59 | 0.6478 | 1.4859 | 99.06 | 0.6478 | 1.4859 | 99.06 |
| 0.6477 | 1.4851 | 99.00 | 0.65 | 1.5036 | 100.24 | 0.648 | 1.4875 | 99.17 |
| 0.7745 | 2.5036 | 100.14 | 0.7737 | 2.4971 | 99.88 | 0.7746 | 2.5044 | 100.17 |
| 0.7721 | 2.4843 | 99.37 | 0.7742 | 2.5012 | 100.04 | 0.7738 | 2.4979 | 99.91 |
| 0.7739 | 2.4987 | 99.95 | 0.7737 | 2.4971 | 99.88 | 0.7741 | 2.5004 | 100.01 |
| 1.0852 | 4.9991 | 99.98 | 1.0802 | 4.9590 | 99.18 | 1.0803 | 4.9598 | 99.19 |
| 1.0829 | 4.9807 | 99.61 | 1.0805 | 4.9614 | 99.22 | 1.081 | 4.9654 | 99.31 |
| 1.0859 | 5.0048 | 100.09 | 1.0811 | 4.9662 | 99.32 | 1.0839 | 4.9887 | 99.77 |
| Average | 99.75 | Average | 99.67 | Average | 99.58 |
| SD | 0.379 | SD | 0.468 | SD | 0.412 |
| % RSD | 0.380 | % RSD | 0.469 | % RSD | 0.414 |
Method with thymol blue solution
|
8.00 a.m.
| 12.00 a.m.
| 16.00 a.m.
|
| Abs | Calc. conc. | % Recovery | Abs | Calc. conc. | % Recovery | Abs | Calc. conc. | % Recovery |
| 0.6998 | 1.4867 | 99.11 | 0.701 | 1.5094 | 100.63 | 0.6999 | 1.4886 | 99.24 |
| 0.7001 | 1.4924 | 99.49 | 0.7009 | 1.5075 | 100.50 | 0.7012 | 1.5132 | 100.88 |
| 0.7011 | 1.5113 | 100.75 | 0.7009 | 1.5075 | 100.50 | 0.7 | 1.4905 | 99.36 |
| 0.7522 | 2.4791 | 99.16 | 0.7537 | 2.5075 | 100.30 | 0.7525 | 2.4848 | 99.39 |
| 0.754 | 2.5132 | 100.53 | 0.7529 | 2.4924 | 99.69 | 0.752 | 2.4753 | 99.01 |
| 0.7538 | 2.5094 | 100.37 | 0.7528 | 2.4905 | 99.62 | 0.7522 | 2.4791 | 99.16 |
| 0.8849 | 4.9924 | 99.84 | 0.8845 | 4.9848 | 99.69 | 0.8839 | 4.9734 | 99.46 |
| 0.8852 | 4.9981 | 99.96 | 0.8839 | 4.9734 | 99.46 | 0.8839 | 4.9734 | 99.46 |
| 0.8851 | 4.9962 | 99.92 | 0.8828 | 4.9526 | 99.05 | 0.886 | 5.0132 | 100.26 |
| Average | 99.90 | Average | 99.94 | Average | 99.58 |
| SD | 0.579 | SD | 0.556 | SD | 0.59 |
| % RSD | 0.580 | % RSD | 0.556 | % RSD | 0.60 |
| | % RSD | | % RSD | | % RSD |
|---|
| Method with bromophenol blue solution | Day 1 | 0.42 | Day 2 | 0.56 | Day 3 | 0.61 |
| Method with thymol blue solution | Day 1 | 0.57 | Day 2 | 0.65 | Day 3 | 0.59 |
The mean recovery of the tests made in the same day for the method with bromophenol blue solution was in the range 99,00-100,24%, with SD = 0.379-0.468 and % RSD = 0.38-0.469 and for the method with thymol blue solution was in the range 99.01-100.88%, with SD = 0.556-0.59 and % RSD = 0.556-0.60.
The RSD values in 3 different days were in the range 0.42-0.61 for the bromophenol blue solution method and in the range 0.57-0.65 for thymol blue solution method.
As it can be seen the RSD values are lower than maximum 5% proposed by the European standards, therefore the method is accurate.
Application on tablets
The applicability of the two methods was demonstrated on two samples from pharmacy (Sample 1 and Sample 2), in 3 consecutive days, on 3 replicates each day.
Table 9 presents the average of the 3 replicates of mg clonidine hydrochloride/tablet found and % recovery, considering that the declared concentration is 0.15 mg/tablet.
| Method with bromophenol blue solution
|
|---|
| Sample 1
| Sample 2
|
|---|
| mg found/tablet ± SD | %Recovery | mg found/tablet ± SD | %Recovery |
|---|
| Day 1 | 0.1490 ± 0.003 | 99.33 | 0.1471 ± 0.031 | 98.06 |
| Day 2 | 0.1499 ± 0.012 | 99.93 | 0.1475 ± 0.007 | 98.33 |
| Day 3 | 0.1502 ± 0.029 | 100.13 | 0.1486 ± 0.005 | 99.06 |
| Method with thymol blue solution
|
| Sample 1
| Sample 2
|
| mg found/tablet ± SD | %Recovery | mg found/tablet ± SD | %Recovery |
| Day 1 | 0.1495 ± 0.026 | 99.66 | 0.1472 ± 0.008 | 98.13 |
| Day 2 | 0.1503 ± 0.015 | 100.2 | 0.1477 ± 0.006 | 98.46 |
| Day 3 | 0.1492 ± 0.079 | 99.46 | 0.1478 ± 0.017 | 98.53 |
The results obtained in the 3 days comply with the limits imposed by the regulations of Romanian Pharmacopoeia 10th edition, Monography - Compressi [± 10%] (27) and the recoveries of active substance are in agreement with their respective label claim. Also, the results were compared with those obtained by the spectrophotometric method stipulated in European Pharmacopoeia and the differences were insignificant.