Spectrophotometric quantification of paracetamol and tramadol hydrochloride by chemometric calibration methods

The results of UV spectrophotometric analysis were analysed using partial least squares (PLS) and principal component regression (PCR) techniques to allow simultaneous evaluation of tramadol hydrochloride (TRA) and p-acetaminophen (PAR) in tablets. A calibration set of 16 mixtures, each containing PAR and TRA in various amounts, was created using a 2(4)-full fractional design. The absorbance data set for the calibration set were obtained between 215–280 nm (Δλ = 0.1 nm). Subsequently, the concentration and absorbance sets were used to generate PCR and PLS calibrations. The ratio spectra- first derivative method was devised as a solution to the same problem to compare the outcomes of the chemometric methods used for the same experiment. After the proposed methods were shown to be accurate in the testing of validation samples, they were used in analysing commercial tablet samples. The analytical results showed that PCR and PLS methods can be used as alternative methods to high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Correlation coefficients were determined for the working concentration range of 6–36 g.mL(−1) for PAR and 4–22 g.mL(−1) for TRA. The limits of detection and quantification were calculated as 0.9104 μg.mL(−1) and 3.0347 μg.mL(−1), respectively. The test results of the chemometric analyses and ratio spectra- first derivative method of the commercial tablet form are in agreement with the results of the one-way ANOVA with a confidence interval of 95%. This study shows that the ratio spectra- first derivative method, PCR and PLS models based on spectrophotometric measurements are very useful and straightforward techniques for the quantitative resolution of a two-component pharmaceutical preparation, requiring little sample preparation and little time for analysis.