Determination of enantiomers of atenolol and propranolol in pharmaceutical formulations by HPLC

J AOAC Int. 2011 May-Jun;94(3):833-8.

Abstract

A validated HPLC-UV method was developed for the determination of R(-), S(+)-atenolol and R(-), S(+)-propranolol in pharmaceutical formulations. The proposed method required no elaborate sample preparation and was found to be selective, linear, and repeatable within the established ranges. Atenolol and propranolol isomers were separated using a Chirex 3022 (S) column with the mobile phases hexane-dichloromethane-methanol-trifluoroacetic acid (35 + 35 + 5 + 0.25, v/v/v/v) and hexane-dichloromethane-ethanol-trifluoroacetic acid (55 + 40 + 5 + 0.25, v/v/v/v), respectively. The LOD values of R(-) and S(+)-atenolol were 12.3 and 9.86 microg/mL, respectively, and 0.61 and 0.89 microg/mL, respectively, for R(-) and S(+)-propranolol. Retention times of R(-)-propranolol and S(+)-propranolol were 12.4 and 14.3 min, respectively, and 29.06 and 32.71 min, respectively, for (R)-atenolol and (S)-atenolol. The proposed method was applied to the determination of enantiomers in pharmaceutical formulations, and no interference from any excipients was found.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Atenolol / chemistry*
  • Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid / methods*
  • Molecular Structure
  • Propranolol / chemistry*
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Sensitivity and Specificity
  • Tablets / chemistry

Substances

  • Tablets
  • Atenolol
  • Propranolol