Quantitative determination of alginic acid in pharmaceutical formulations using capillary electrophoresis

A capillary electrophoresis (CE) method has been developed and validated for the quantitative determination of alginic acid, which is used as a rafting agent in complex antacid formulations. The method involves a preliminary separation of the alginic acid from the formulation by washing the sample matrix with methanol, diluted HCl and water. This is followed by electrophoresis within a fused silica capillary using borate/boric acid buffer as the electrolyte, and the quantification is performed by a UV detector monitoring at 200 nm, where the intrinsic absorption of alginic acid is measured. An assay precision of better than 3% was achieved in intra- and interday determinations. No interference was found from the matrix of the antacid formulations.