Method development and validation for the simultaneous determination of five selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors by capillary zone electrophoresis

A capillary zone electrophoresis method is proposed for the separation of five antidepressants. Optimum conditions for the separation were investigated. A background electrolyte solution consisting of 40 mm phosphate buffer adjusted to pH 2.5, hydrodynamic injection, and a 28 kV separation voltage were used. Relative standard deviations (RSD) were <0.9% and <1.7% for migration time and corrected peak area (n = 21), respectively The detection limits for the five antidepressants ranged from 0.3 to 0.7 mg L-1. The stability of the solutions, linearity accuracy, and precision were examined during validation of the method. The method is rapid and sensitive; when it was tested for the analysis of pharmaceutical formulations the recoveries obtained were between 98 and 103% of the nominal content.