Two accurate and sensitive chromatographic methods have been developed and validated for simultaneous determination of cinnarizine (CIN) and dimenhydrinate (DIM). The first method uses simultaneous quantitative thin layer chromatography (TLC) spectrodensitometric evaluation of them, using ethyl acetate:methylene chloride (8 : 2 by volume) as a mobile phase. Chromatograms are scanned at 254 nm. This method analyzes CIN in a concentration range of 0.5–6 µg per band with mean percentage recovery of 99.78 ± 1.001 and DIM in a concentration range of 1–6 µg per band with mean percentage recovery of 99.87 ± 1.319. The second method is high-performance liquid chromatography using methanol:acetonitrile:water [85 : 10 : 5, by volume +0.5% tri ethyl amine (TEA)] as a mobile phase. The linearity was found to be in the range of 10–60 and 5–60 µg mL⁻¹ for CIN and DIM, respectively. The methods were successfully applied to the simultaneous determination of CIN and DIM in bulk powder, laboratory-prepared mixtures and pharmaceutical dosage forms. The validity of results was assessed by applying standard addition techniques. The results obtained are found to agree statistically with those obtained by a reported method, showing no significant difference with respect to accuracy and precision.

Background: Common cold and cough preparations represent a huge segment of the global pharmaceutical market. Recently, cold/cough formulations containing paracetamol (PAR) have attracted significant attention as PAR has been implemented into the supportive treatment of mild cases of COVID-19 as the first-line antipyretic. From a literature review, no method has been reported yet for simultaneous estimation of PAR, pseudoephedrine hydrochloride (PSE) and carbinoxamine maleate (CRX) in any matrix. Thus, there is an urgent need for smart and green methods that would enable quantification of the cited components in their challenging ratio. Objectives: The aim of this work is to develop and validate the first UV spectrophotometric methods for simultaneous determination of the selected drugs taking into consideration the list of challenges including the highly overlapping features and spectral interferences in the cited mixture. Methods: Namely, the proposed methods are: direct spectrophotometry, dual wavelength, first derivative, derivative ratio, ratio difference, constant center coupled with spectrum subtraction, and the constant multiplication method paired with spectrum subtraction. Results: These methods were linear over the concentration range of 2.5–35, 1.5–20, and 4.5–35 μg/mL for PAR, PSE and CRX, respectively. These methods fulfill the validity parameters according to International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) guidelines. The results obtained were statistically benchmarked to the official ones where no significant difference was noticed. Conclusion: The developed methods are successfully applied for concurrent quantification of the studied components in the marketed dosage form without interference from matrix excipients. The impact on the environment was assessed by five green metrics, namely a recent Analytical greenness (AGREE) metric algorithm based on the green analytical chemistry framework, Green Analytical Procedure Index (GAPI), Eco-Scale, Assessment of Green Profile (AGP), and National Environmental Methods Index (NEMI). Highlights: Eco-friendly and successive spectrophotometric methods were firstly developed in this work, for the simultaneous quantification of PAR, PSE and CRX. These approaches incorporate a simple enrichment-aided technique to augment their spectrophotometric signals, facilitating the accurate quantitation of the minor component in the cited mixture.

Two sensitive and selective chromatographic methods were developed for determination of finasteride and tamsulosin hydrochloride in bulk powder and a pharmaceutical formulation. The first method was based on high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) separation of the cited drugs in the presence of the acid degradation product of finasteride. The separation was achieved using a C18 column (300 mm × 3.9 mm; 10-μm particle size) and a mobile phase consisting of 0.04 M ortho-phosphoric acid (pH 3.5 ± 0.2 adjusted with triethylamine) and acetonitrile (50:50, v/v). Quantification was achieved with ultraviolet (UV) detection at 215 nm. Linearity was in the range of 10.00–110.00 μg/mL and 2.00–44.00 μg/mL for finasteride and tamsulosin hydrochloride, respectively. Thin-layer chromatography (TLC)–densitometric method was achieved on an aluminum plates pre-coated with silica gel 60 F₂₅₄ using toluene–ethanol–diethylamine (8:2:1.5, by volume) as eluent, and the R_F values of tamsulosin hydrochloride and finasteride were 0.57 and 0.64, respectively. Quantification was achieved with UV detection at 250 nm for finasteride and 280 nm for tamsulosin hydrochloride. Linearity was in the range of 1.00–40.00 and 0.2.00–20.00 μg per spot for finasteride and tamsulosin hydrochloride, respectively. The results obtained were validated according to the International Conference on Harmonisation (ICH) guidelines. A statistical comparison between the obtained results and the results of a reported method was carried out.