Simultaneous densitometric determination of hydrocortisone acetate and 2-phenoxyethanol in creams

Abstract

A simple and rapid TLC-densitometric method has been developed for simultaneously determination of hydrocortisone acetate and 2-phenoxyethanol in cream. After extraction of the analyte with 96% ethanol, the extracts were spotted on precoated TLC silica gel 60 RP-18 F254s aluminum-backed sheets, which were then developed with a mixture of water-methanol (8:22, v/v). Quantitative evaluation was performed by measuring the absorbance reflectance of the analyte spots at 270 nm. The method was validated for specificity, linearity, accuracy, precision, and robustness. Good linearity was achieved in the concentration ranges of 4260–13,000 ng spot−1 (hydrocortisone acetate), and 750–4250 ng spot−1 (2-phenoxyethanol). The detection limit and quantification limit were 554 and 1660 ng spot−1 (hydrocortisone acetate), and 149 and 448 ng spot−1 (2-phenoxyethanol), respectively. No constant or proportional-systematic errors for both of the analytes were observed. RSD of repeatability and intermediate precision were foun...