Development and Validation of RP-HPLC Method for Simultaneous Estimation of Prednicarbate, Mupirocin and Ketoconazole in Topical Dosage Forms

A simple and accurate reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) method was developed and validated for simultaneous estimation of prednicarbate (PC), mupirocin (MP) and ketoconazole (KT) in topical dosage forms. This combination is preferred for topical delivery of anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and antifungal agents for treatment of various skin disorders. The proposed RP-HPLC method utilizes a Hypersil GOLD C18, 5 mu m, 250 mm x 4.6 mm i.d. column, mobile phase consisting of methanol-water (80: 20, v/v) adjusted to pH 5.0 with orthophosphoric acid in isocratic mode at the flow rate of 0.5 mL/min and UV detection at 243 nm. The method does not require any specific sample preparation except extraction of active pharmaceutical ingredients from the developed topical emulgel formulations using dichloromethane. Linearity was found in the range of 0.05-0.3 mg/L for PC and 0.4-2.4 mg/L for each of MP and KT with R (2) > 0.999. The method is precise with low RSD%, accurate (overall average recovery yields: 99.92% for PC, 99.44% for MP and 99.74% for KT) and selective. Due to its simplicity and accuracy, the method is suitable for simultaneous analysis of PC, MP and KT in topical dosage forms.