Rapid, noninvasive quantitative determination of acyclovir in pharmaceutical solid dosage forms through their poly(vinyl chloride) blister package by solid-state Fourier transform Raman spectroscopy.

Fourier transform (FT) Raman spectroscopy based on band intensity or band area measurements was used for the quantitative determination of acyclovir in pharmaceutical solid dosage forms through their poly(vinyl chloride) blister package. Univariate calibration using the bands observed at 1690, 1630, 1574, 1482, 1181, 578, and 508 cm(-1) was found to be sufficient for the analysis. Calibration curves were linear, the correlation coefficients being 0.997-0.9993 and 0.996-0.9991 for band intensity and band area measurements, respectively. Results obtained compare well, as indicated by the t-test, with those obtained by the current United States Pharmacopoeia (USP 24) and National Formulary (NF 19) method. Precision ranged from 0.7-4.5 and 0.4-4.0% RSD (n = 3) for band intensity and band area measurements, respectively. The developed nondestructive FT-Raman method is rapid, simple, and can be used for the on-line, real-time monitoring of acyclovir formulation production lines.