Thin-layer chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry for identification of degradants for phycocyanin

Phycocyanin is a natural pigment found in certain types of cyanobacteria (also known as blue-green algae) and some types of red algae. It is responsible for the blue color seen in these organisms and is an essential component of their photosynthetic mechanism. Phycocyanin in bulk and pharmaceutical dosage forms can be estimated with ease using a fully verified, fast, accurate, and straightforward thin-layer chromatographic (TLC) technique. Pre-coated silica gel 60 F254 was used as a stationary phase for the quantification of phycocyanin. The mobile phase included ethanol-toluene-acetic acid-ethyl acetate (1:6:3:0.2, V/V). Using a CAMAG TLC Scanner 3 and winCATS software, the sample was analyzed at 280 nm. Phycocyanin had an RF value of 0.43. Phycocyanin was quantified in the linearity range of 500-3000 ng/band using the proposed method. The obtained assay value was 100.28%. The detection limit and quantification limit were found to be 151.46 ng/band and 458.98 ng/band, respectively. The suggested method offers a quicker and more affordable quality control tool for the regular examination of phycocyanin in tablet dosage form and as a bulk drug. It may also be successfully used for the simultaneous assessment of the drug content of marketed formulations on a single plate. A degradation study was performed in acid, alkali, water, hydrogen peroxide, and oven. The result of the degradation study indicates that the drug is stable under neutral conditions whereas the drug gets degraded in a less molar solution of acid, alkali, and hydrogen peroxide. The degradation peak shows that the drug gets degraded in 0.05 M solution of acid, alkali and hydrogen peroxide and gives a peak of degradant.