HPLC, TLC, and First-Derivative Spectrophotometry Stability-Indicating Methods for the Determination of Tropisetron in the Presence of Its Acid Degradates

Three stability-indicating assay methods were developed for the determination of tropisetron in a pharmaceutical dosage form in the presence of its degradation products. The proposed techniques are HPLC, TLC, and first-derivative spectrophotometry (1D). Acid degradation was carried out, and the degradation products were separated by TLC and identified by IR, NMR, and MS techniques. The HPLC method was based on determination of tropisetron in the presence of its acid-induced degradation product on an RP Nucleosil C18 column using methanol-water-acetonitrile-trimethylamine (65 + 20 + 15 + 0.2, v/v/v/v) mobile phase and UV detection at 285 nm. The TLC method was based on the separation of tropisetron and its acid-induced degradation products, followed by densitometric measurement of the intact spot at 285 nm. The separation was carried out on silica gel 60 F254 aluminum sheets using methanol-glacial acetic acid (22 + 3, v/v) mobile phase. The 1D method was based on the measurement of first-derivative amplitudes of tropisetron in H2O at the zero-crossing point of its acid-induced degradation product at 271.9 nm. Linearity, accuracy, and precision were found to be acceptable over concentration ranges of 40-240 microg/mL, 1-10 microg/spot, and 6-36 micro/mL for the HPLC, TLC, and 1D methods, respectively. The suggested methods were successfully applied for the determination of the drug in bulk powder, laboratory-prepared mixtures, and a commercial sample.