DETECTION AND ASSAY OF MEDICINAL NICOTINIC ACID UTILIZING ISOCRATIC HIGH PERFORMANCE LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY

Ronald Bartzatt*, Alyna Nguyen, Anna Nguyen and Carolyn Fochek

ABSTRACT

Medicinal nicotinic acid is identified and assayed by use of high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) from aqueous based mixtures, these including mixtures: 1) Water; 2) Normal saline (0.9 grams/100 mL) mixtures; and 3) Aqueous mixtures having cellulose and/or starch as tablet excipients. Medicinal nicotinic acid lowers LDL cholesterol, increase HDL cholesterol, and boosts brain function. The standard curve ranged from 3.2854 x 10-5 molar nicotinic acid to 1.36411 x 10-3 molar nicotinic acid (about 42-fold range in concentration). The dead volume for this instrumentation is 1.5 mL. The dead time is 1.5 minutes, with nicotinic acid eluting at 2.6 minutes. The limit of quantitation (LOQ) is 4.5616 x 10-5 molar, with limit of detection (LOD) of 1.3685 x 10-5 molar nicotinic acid. Nicotinic acid was successfully identified from all aqueous samples, those assayed from normal saline mixtures, and aqueous dissolved mixtures having cellulose and starch present as excipients for tablet and capsule pharmaceutical preparations. The assay of nicotinic acid using isocratic high performance liquid chromatography will be useful for the quality control monitoring within pharmaceutical manufacturing, follow and verify patient compliance, confirmation of drug presence in other medicinal formulations, and as an assay method for averting adulterants.

Keywords: Nicotinic acid, HPLC, isocratic, niacin.