Simultaneous determination of metronidazole and spiramycin in bulk powder and in tablets using different spectrophotometric techniques

Metronidazole (MZ) is an anti-infective drug used in the treatment of anaerobic bacterial and protozoa infections in humans. It is also used as a vetinary antiparasitic drug. Spiramycin (SP) is a medium-spectrum antibiotic with high effectiveness against Gram-positive bacteria. Three simple, sensitive, selective and precise spectrophotometric methods were developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of MZ and SP in their pure form and in pharmaceutical formulations. In methods A and B, MZ was determined by the application of direct spectrophotometry and by measuring its zero-order (D0) absorption spectra at its λmax = 311 nm. In method A, SP was determined by the application of first derivative spectrophotometry (D1) and by measuring the amplitude at 218.3 nm. In method B, the first derivative of the ratio spectra (DD1) was applied, and SP was determined by measuring the peak amplitude at 245.6 nm. Method C entailed mean centring of the ratio spectra (MCR), which allows the determination of both MZ and SP. The methods developed were used for the determination of MZ and SP over a concentration range of 5–25 µg ml−1. The proposed methods were used to determine both drugs in their pure, powdered forms with mean percentage recoveries of 100.16 ± 0.73 for MZ in methods A and B, 101.10 ± 0.90 in method C, 100.09 ± 0.70, 100.02 ± 0.88 and 100.49 ± 1.26 for SP in methods A, B and C, respectively. The proposed methods were proved using laboratory-prepared mixtures of the two drugs and were successfully applied to the analysis of MZ and SP in tablet formulation without any interference from each other or from the excipients. The results obtained by applying the proposed methods were compared statistically with a reported HPLC method and no significant difference was observed between these methods regarding both accuracy and precision. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.