Spectrophotometric Determination of Paracetamol Using Sodium bismuthate as Chromogen

Abstract

A simple and accurate method was developed by the authors for the detection and determination of paracetamol by spectrophotometric method in pharmaceutical formulations in the form of tablets and capsules. Paracetamol was dissolved in 4M sulphuric acid and treated with 10.0 mg of sodium bismuthate in the presence of 1M HCl and 1M acetic Acid. It exhibited a stable bluish-violet colour. The coloured compound showed a λ_max at 550 nm. Beer’s law was obeyed in the range of 100-300µgmL^-1 in 1M HCl and 300-800 µgmL^-1 in 1M acetic acid medium, with detection limits of 0.03µgmL^-1 in 1M HCl and 0.05 µgmL^-1 in 1 M acetic acid medium respectively. The method developed by the authors was found to be precise and accurate for qualitative and quantitative determination of paracetamol.