A rapid Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopic method for direct quantification of paracetamol content in solid pharmaceutical formulations

• FTIR spectroscopic method for rapid quantification of paracetamol content.
• Two chemometric models employed for the quantification in the region 1800–1000 cm−1.
• The regression coefficient (R2) was achieved 0.999.
• The interference study revealed minimal effect from sample matrix.
• The method is green avoiding large volumes of hazardous solvents for extraction.

A transmission FTIR spectroscopic method was developed for direct, inexpensive and fast quantification of paracetamol content in solid pharmaceutical formulations. In this method paracetamol content is directly analyzed without solvent extraction. KBr pellets were formulated for the acquisition of FTIR spectra in transmission mode. Two chemometric models: simple Beer’s law and partial least squares employed over the spectral region of 1800–1000 cm−1 for quantification of paracetamol content had a regression coefficient of (R2) of 0.999. The limits of detection and quantification using FTIR spectroscopy were 0.005 mg g−1 and 0.018 mg g−1, respectively. Study for interference was also done to check effect of the excipients. There was no significant interference from the sample matrix. The results obviously showed the sensitivity of transmission FTIR spectroscopic method for pharmaceutical analysis. This method is green in the sense that it does not require large volumes of hazardous solvents or long run times and avoids prior sample preparation.

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