Optimized and validated spectrophotometric methods for the determination of hydroxyzine hydrochloride in pharmaceuticals and urine using iodine and picric acid

Two simple, rapid, cost-effective and sensitive spectrophotometric procedures are proposed for the determination of hydroxyzine dihydrochloride (HDH) in pharmaceuticals and in spiked human urine. The methods are based on the charge transfer complexation reaction of the drug with either iodine (I2) as a σ-acceptor (method A) in dichloromethane or picric acid (PA) as a π-acceptor (method B) in chloroform. The coloured products exhibit absorption maxima at 380 and 400 nm for I2 and PA, respectively. The Beer Law was obeyed over the concentration ranges of 1.25–15 and 3.75–45 μg mL-1 for method A and B, respectively. The molar absorptivity values, Sandell sensitivities, limits of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ) are reported. The accuracy and precision of the methods were evaluated on intra-day and inter-day basis. The proposed methods were successfully applied for the determination of HDH in tablets and spiked human urine.