Determination of linezolid in pharmaceutical dosage forms by liquid chromatography and ultraviolet spectroscopy

A liquid chromatographic (LC) method and a UV spectrophotometric method were developed and validated for quantitative determination of linezolid in tablets and injection. The isocratic LC analyses were performed on an RP18 column using a mobile phase composed of methanol-water-acetonitrile (40 + 40 + 20, v/v/v) at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. The UV spectrophotometric method was performed at 251 nm. The analytical methods were validated according to International Conference on Harmonization guidelines. The calibration graphs were linear (correlation coefficient > 0.999) in the studied concentration ranges of 0.1 to 10 microg/mL for LC and 2 to 16 microg/mL for UV spectrophotometry. The relative standard deviation values for intraday and interday precision studies were <2%, and the accuracy was >98% for both methods. The specificity of the LC method was proved using forced degradation. Statistical analysis showed no significant difference between the results obtained by the 2 methods. The proposed methods are precise and accurate and can be applied directly to the oral and parenteral pharmaceutical preparations of linezolid.