A QCM-based assay of drug content in Eudragit RS 100-based delivery systems.

A specific version of the quartz crystal microbalance method has been proposed for quantitative evaluation of drug content in polymeric drug carrier systems. In this study, ammonio methacrylate copolymer (type B) microparticles and their standard solutions have been prepared and loaded with set amounts of the medications diltiazem (base) and lidocaine. The analytes have been segregatim deposited on the surface of the resonator and the drug content in them has been derived from the downshift of the resonance frequency produced by irreversible interaction of the drug molecules with irradiating hydrochloric gas. The obtained results have been statistically processed on a number of samples and have been found to exhibit excellent coherence to set theoretical values. As an alternative, the conventional pharmacopoeial UV-Vis spectral method has also been separately applied to studied samples, revealing worsened performance in the case of lidocaine due to polymer matrix interference. Thus the universality of the QCM method has been proved to add to its versatility and precision. The method appears to be readily applicable to the routine pharmaceutical quantity control of bulk and multiparticulate drug forms.