AAS and spectrophotometric determination of propranolol HCl and metoprolol tartrate

Two simple and accurate spectrophotometric methods are described for the determination of propranolol hydrochloride (I) and metoprolol tartrate (II). The methods are based on the reaction of each drug as a secondary amine: (a) with carbon disulphide, the formed complex extracted into iso-butyl methyl ketone (IBMK) after chelation with Cu(II) ions at pH 7.5, followed by measuring the absorbance at 435.4 nm or indirectly for the drug by flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS). The calibration graph is linear up to 40 and 60 mug ml(-1) with apparent molar absorptivities of 6.89 x 10(3) and 1.08 x 104 l mol(-1) cm(-1) and correlation coefficients of 0.9994 and 0.9995 for propranolol and metoprolol. respectively; (b) with pi -acceptors, tetracyanoethylene (TCNE), or chloranilic acid (CLA) to give highly coloured complex species. The coloured products are quantitated spectrophotometrically at 415 or 510 nm for the two drugs with TCNE and CLA, respectively. and obey Beer's Law with RSD less than 2.0. The methods were applied to the determination of these drugs in pharmaceutical preparation without interferences. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.