Method development and validation for the simultaneous determination of fluoxetine and fluvoxamine in pharmaceutical preparations by capillary electrophoresis

A capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) method for determining fluoxetine and fluvoxamine is proposed. Optimal conditions for the quantitative separation were investigated. A background electrolyte solution consisting of 40 mM berate buffer adjusted to pH 9.3, hydrodynamic injection and 8 kV of separation voltage were used, obtaining in these conditions analysis times lower than 2.5 min. Main aspects of the validation method are examined and discussed. Detection limits of 1.0 mg/l for fluoxetine and fluvoxamine were obtained. The developed method is rapid and sensitive and this is the first report on the determination of fluoxetine and fluvoxamine concentrations in pharmaceutical preparations by CZE. Furthermore, the proposed method was applied to nine pharmaceutical preparations with recoveries between 97.75 and 102.95 over their nominal contents. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.