Abstract
A high performance liquid chromatographic procedure for the analysis of pharmaceutical formulations containing pentaerythritol tetranitrate including the diluted bulk drug and finished products consisting of uncoated tablets and timed-release capsules and tablets was developed. The method employs a reversed-phase system with UV detection at 230 nm. Replicate analyses of 11 commercial formulations (5 diluted bulk drugs and 6 dosage forms gave precision values (CV) having a range of 0.17 to 1.80%. Recovery values obtained from these commercial preparations via fortification ranged from 98.8 to 102.0% while recoveries from 3 synthetic mixtures varied from 99.2 to 100.8%. The detector response for the analyte was observed to be linear over a 50-fold concentration range using nitroglycerin as the internal standard. The proposed HPLC method is specific, easy to perform and exhibits excellent accuracy and precision. Seven different brands of HPLC columns were evaluated for possible use with the method.