Selective and stability-indicating methods for the simultaneous determination of mexiletine hydrochloride and/or its related substance: 2,6-dimethylphenol.

Four simple, rapid, sensitive, and selective analytical procedures were developed for determination of mexiletine hydrochloride (MX) and/or its related substance: 2,6-dimethylphenol (DMP). The latter is a synthetic impurity for which a maximum pharmacopeial limit is defined. The first method depends on derivative-ratio spectrophotometry, for which the first-derivative signals of the ratio spectra at 259 nm (Deltalambda = 3 nm) are selected for the determination of MX. The second method is based on the spectrofluorometric measurement of MX in alkaline solution in the presence of 15 mM sodium dodecyl sulfate micellar medium at 292 nm (lambdaEx 260 nm). The third method is based on liquid chromatographic (LC) separation of MX and DMP on an RP-C8 column with a mobile phase consisting of 50 mM Na2HPO4-acetonitrile (60 + 40, adjusted to pH 2.4), and quantification of the analytes is achieved with UV detection at 212 nm based on peak area. The fourth method uses the coupling reaction of DMP with 2,6-dibromo-quinone-4-chlorimide (DBQC) in borate buffer to form an intensely colored product that was spectrophotometrically measured using first-derivative amplitudes at 670 nm (Deltalambda = 6 nm) for the determination of DMP. Different variables affecting each method were carefully investigated and optimized. The reliability and analytical performance of the proposed methods, including linearity, range, precision, accuracy, and detection and quantitation limits, were statistically validated. The first 3 methods were successfully applied for the stability-indicating determination of MX in laboratory-prepared mixtures with DMP, as well as for the determination of MX in capsules. Also, the LC and the DBQC spectrophotometric methods permitted the selective determination of DMP in the presence of a large excess of the parent drug at or near the pharmacopeial limit (0.1-1%).