Fast determination of ethambutol in pharmaceutical formulations using capillary electrophoresis with capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection

A method for the determination of ethambutol (EMB), a first-line drug against tuberculosis, based on CE with capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection is proposed. The separation of EMB and its main product of degradation were achieved in less than 3 min with a resolution of 2.0 using a BGE composed of 50 mmol/L histidine and 30 mmol/L MES, pH 6.30. By raising the pH to 8.03, the analysis time was reduced to 1.0 min, but with a significant loss of resolution (0.7). Using the best separation 2 conditions, linearity of 0.9976 (R(2) five data points), sensitivity of 1.26 x 10(-4) V min mu mol(-1) L, and LOD and quantification of 23.5 and 78.3 mu mol/L, respectively, were obtained. Recoveries at four levels of concentration ranged from 95 to 102% and the concentration range studied ranged from 100 to 500 mu mol/L. The results obtained for the determination of EMB in pharmaceutical formulations were compared with those obtained by using CE with photometric detection.