SPECTROPHOTOMETRIC DETERMINATION OF CERTAIN BENZODIAZEPINE DRUGS

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt

Abstract

A rapid adequate spectrophotometric method was developed for the quantitative determination of diazepam, nordiazepam, oxazepam and chlordiazepoxide in pure form and in pharmaceutical preparations. The method is based on the hydrolysis of the above mentioned drugs in acid medium for 20 minutes in a boiling water bath. The formed amines were condensed with p-dimethylaminocinnamaldehyde in acidic methanol to form pink coloured product with absorption maxima at 500 and 530 nm for diazepam and the other drugs respectively. Beer's law was obeyed over the range of 0.5-10 mg ml-1 for all studied drugs. The produced colour is stable for 2 hours for diazepam and at least for 24 hours for the other studied drugs. The method is simple, sensitive and particularly suited for routine analysis of these drugs.