A new sensitive and selective spectrophotometric method for the determination of catechol derivatives and its pharmaceutical preparations.

A sensitive and simple spectrophotometric method for the estimation of certain catechol derivatives like pyrocatechol (PCL), dopamine hydrochloride (DPH), levodopa (LDP), methyl dopa (MDP) and adrenaline (ADH) in either pure form or in its pharmaceutical formulation is described. The method is based on the interaction of diazotised p-nitro aniline (DPNA) with catechol derivatives in presence of molybdate ions in acidic medium. Absorbance of the resulting red complex is measured at 500-510 nm, respectively, and is stable for 2-10 h. The method is highly reproducible and specific for these selected catechol derivatives. The common excipients used as additives in pharmaceuticals and phenol, hydroquinone, resorcinol, pyrogallol and phloroglucinol do not interfere in the proposed method. Analytical data for determination of the pure compound is presented together with the application of the proposed method to the analysis of some pharmaceutical formulations. The results compare favourably with those of official and reported methods.