Sustainable fluorescence derivatization approach for spectrofluorimetric quantification of methylphenidate hydrochloride in pharmaceutical formulation and spiked human plasma

Abstract

Autistic children commonly experience symptoms that overlap with those of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, such as inattention and hyperactivity. Methylphenidate hydrochloride is a brain stimulant drug used to treat the principal symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in autistic individuals. A sustained spectrofluorimetric approach for quantifying methylphenidate hydrochloride in tablets and spiked plasma was developed in this study. At 75°C in a borate buffer pH 9, methylphenidate hydrochloride was derivatized by 4-chloro-7-nitrobenzo-2-oxa-1,3-diazole (NBD-Cl) into a fluorescent derivative detectable at 538 nm following excitation at 475 nm. The approach has been validated using ICH criteria, and it proved a sufficient linear response curve with the studied drug concentrations ranging from 2 to 100 ng/mL. The described approach was selectively used to quantify methylphenidate hydrochloride in tablets and plasma without the impact of the matrix components. In addition, the approach's sustainability was investigated and compared to the published work using two greenness assessment metrics termed analytical eco-scale and Analytical GREEnness (AGREE). The findings suggest that the recommended approach is sustainable compared to the published work.