[Are ultraviolet and visible spectroscopy and spectrophotometry obsolete methods in pharmaceutical analysis?]

It has been investigated if UV-VIS spectroscopy and spectrophotometry can be regarded to be obsolete methods in pharmaceutical analysis. The conclusions are as follows. As a consequence of the introduction and spreading of highly efficient spectroscopic methods in the structural analysis of organic compounds the importance of UV-VIS spectroscopy as a structure elucidation tool has greatly decreased. At the same time, however, diode-array UV spectrophotometers used as HPLC detectors have created very convenient possibilities for the identification of minor components (impurities, degradation products, etc.) in drugs. This statement is illustrated by several practical examples. On the basis of some data taken from the British Pharmacopoeia 1998 it is stated that UV spectrophotometry as a quantitative analytical method still belongs to the most frequently used analytical techniques in pharmaceutical analysis. At the same time, however, the authors are of negative opinion about the up-to-dateness and usefulness of colorimetric methods still very often published for the determination of drug substances.