Abstract

A simple, accurate, rapid and precise isocratic reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic method has been developed and validated for simultaneous determination of aspirin, atorvastatin calcium and clopidogrel bisulphate in capsules. The chromatographic separation was carried out on an Inertsil ODS analytical column (150×4.6 mm; 5 μm) with a mixture of acetonitrile:phosphate buffer pH 3.0 adjusted with o-phosphoric acid (50:50, v/v) as mobile phase; at a flow rate of 1.2 ml/min. UV detection was performed at 235 nm. The retention times were 1.89, 6.6 and 19.8 min. for aspirin, atorvastatin calcium and clopidogrel bisulphate, respectively. Calibration plots were linear (r²>0.998) over the concentration range 5-30 µg/ml for atorvastatin calcium and 30-105 µg/ml for aspirin and clopidogrel bisulphate. The method was validated for accuracy, precision, specificity, linearity, and sensitivity. The proposed method was successfully used for quantitative analysis of capsules. No interference from any component of pharmaceutical dosage form was observed. Validation studies revealed that method is specific, rapid, reliable, and reproducible. The high recovery and low relative standard deviation confirm the suitability of the method for routine determination of aspirin, atorvastatin calcium and clopidogrel bisulphate in bulk drug and capsule dosage form.