Spectrofluorimetric Determination of the Hypertensive Drug Captopril Based on Its Oxidation with Cerium(IV)

A highly sensitive and specific spectrofluorimetric method for the analysis of captopril (CAP) in the pure form and in the tablet dosage forms has been described. The method was based on the oxidation of captopril by cerium(IV) in the presence of sulphuric acid and subsequent monitoring the fluorescence of the induced Ce(III) ion produced at lambda(ex) = 256 nm and lambda(em) = 354 nm. All variables affecting the reaction conditions such as cerium(IV) concentration, type and concentration of acid medium, reaction time, diluting solvents, temperature and heating time were carefully studied and optimized. Under the experimental conditions used, an excellent linear relationship was obtained between fluorescence intensity and the concentration of CAP. A linear range of determination was verified for captopril concentrations between 0.1-1.3 mu g mL(-1) and the correlation coefficient of determination was 0.9997. Quantitation and detection limits were calculated. The precision of the method was satisfactory; the values of relative standard deviations did not exceed 1.14\%. No interference could be observed from the excipients and additives are commonly presented in dosage forms. The proposed method was applied successfully for the assay of the studied drug in pure form and in pharmaceutical dosage forms. Recovery experiments revealed recovery of 99.82-100.21\%. The results of the analysis show a good agreement with those obtained by official method stated in the United State Pharmacopoeia.