Separation and Identification of Some Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs Using TLC and HPLC-MS

A simple, rapid and reliable thin-layer chromatographic method has been developed for the identification of drugs. A mixture of 12 non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs was separated on silica gel 60 F254 plates using ethyl acetate-toluene-methanol-acetic acid 40:40:1:1 (v/v) as mobile phase. These drugs were also separated on C8 chemically modified diatomaceous earth (diatomite) using acetonitrile-water-H3PO4 85%, 50:50:1 (v/v). A spot visualization was performed in UV light at 254 nm. The piroxicam was one of the 12 drugs studied, and it was separated and identified by thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS) in urine. The limits of detection are from 0.005 to 0.5 µg per spot, depending on the measured substance.