A green analytical method for the simultaneous analysis of cefixime trihydrate and ambroxol HCl based on ultraviolet derivative spectroscopy

Context: Until date, there is no reported derivative spectrophotometric method for the combination of cefixime trihydrate (CEF) and ambroxol HCl (ABH). So an urgent need was felt to develop an ultraviolet (UV) derivative spectroscopic method, which reduces the cost of analysis on comparing with high-performance liquid chromatography or high-performance thin layer chromatography method. Aims: To develop and validate an economical and ecofriendly derivative spectroscopic method that avoids the use of organic solvents for simultaneous quantification of both the drugs. Materials and Methods: A simple method based on the derivative spectrophotometric method at zero crossing wavelengths has been developed for the simultaneous quantification of CEF and ABH. As the method depends on hydrotropic dissolution, 0.1N urea is used as the solvent, and it yields an economical and ecofriendly method. Two wavelengths 253 nm (zero crossing point (ZCP) for CEF) and 306 nm (ZCP for ABH) were selected for the quantification of ABH and CEF respectively. Results: The first derivative amplitude-concentration plots were linear over the range of 5-35 μg/ml and 3-10.5 μg/ml with detection limits of 0.187 and 0.0937 μg/ml and quantification limits of 0.625 and 0.312 μg/ml for CEF and ABH respectively. The percentage recovery was within the range between 99.05% and 102%. The % relative standard deviation for precision and accuracy of the method was found to be <2%. Conclusion: The proposed method was found to be simple, accurate and precise and can be successfully applied to the routine quality control analysis of studied drugs in their tablet formulations.