Kinetic spectrophotometric method for the determination of norfloxacin in pharmaceutical formulations.

A simple and sensitive kinetic spectrophotometric method is described, based on the oxidation of norfloxacin with alkaline potassium permanganate. The reaction is followed spectrophotometrically by measuring the rate of change of absorbance at 603 nm. The initial rate and fixed time (at 3 min) methods are utilized for constructing the calibration graphs to determine the concentration of the drug. The calibration graphs are linear in the concentration ranges 2.0-20 microg ml(-1) and 1.0-20 microg ml(-1) using the initial rate and fixed time methods, respectively. The results are validated statistically and through recovery studies. The method has been successfully applied to the determination of norfloxacin in commercial dosage forms. Statistical comparison of the results with the reference method shows excellent agreement and indicates no significant difference in accuracy and precision.