Stability indicating high performance thin layer chromatographic method for quantitation of venlafaxine in bulk and pharmaceutical dosage form

Background: Venlafaxine (VEN) is a phenethylamine bicyclic compound, chemically, 1-(2-[dimethyl amino]-1-[4-methoxy phenyl] ethyl) cyclo-hexan-1ol hydrochloride. It is a antidepressant. It inhibits the reuptake of serotonin, nor adrenaline and dopamine to a lesser extent at the presynaptic membrane. Aim: A simple, rapid, precise, accurate, and economical high performance thin layer chromatographic (HPTLC) method has been developed and validated for the determination of VEN both as a bulk drug and in formulation. Materials and Methods: The method uses aluminum plates precoated with silica gel 60 F254 as the stationary phase and dichloromethane:acetonitrile:N-hexane:triethylamine: 0.5:0.5:4:0.7 (v/v/v/v) as mobile phase. Results: This system gave compact spots for VEN (R f = 0.46 ± 0.05). Forced degradation studies were done by subjecting VEN to acid and alkali hydrolysis, oxidation, and reduction. The peak of the degradation product was well resolved from that of the pure drug and had significant different R f values. Analysis of VEN was performed in the absorbance mode at 225 nm. The limit of detection and quantification were 12.48 and 37.81 ng/spot respectively. Conclusions: The developed method was validated and found to be simple, specific, accurate and precise and can be used for routine quality control analysis of VEN in bulk and pharmaceutical formulation.