Spectrophotometric and spectrofluorimetric methods for the determination of pregabalin in bulk and pharmaceutical preparation

Two new, sensitive and selective spectrofluorimetric and spectrophotometric methods have been developed for the determination of the γ-amino-n-butyric acid derivative pregabalin (PGB) in bulk drug and capsule. Pregabalin, as a primary amine compound, reacts with 7-chloro-4-nitrobenzofurazon (NBD-Cl) which is a highly sensitive fluorogenic and chromogenic reagent used in many investigations. According to this fact, spectrophotometric and spectrofluorimetric methods for the determination of pregabalin in capsules were developed for the first time. The relation between the absorbance at 460 nm and the concentration is rectilinear over the range 0.5–7.0 μg mL−1. The reaction product was also measured spectrofluorimetrically at 558 nm after excitation at 460 nm. The fluorescence intensity was directly proportional to the concentration over the range 40–400 ng mL−1. The method was applied successfully to the determination of this drug in pharmaceutical dosage form. The mean recovery for the commercial capsules was 99.93% and 99.96% for spectrophotometric and spectrofluorimetric study, respectively. The suggested procedures could be used for the determination of PGB in pure and capsules being sensitive, simple and selective.