A novel RP-HPLC method for the detection and quantification of roxithromycin in topical delivery studies

A novel HPLC method with UV detection for the identification and quantification of roxithromycin (ROX) during in vitro skin penetration studies has been developed and validated. The method proved to be simple and rapid with isocratic elution (flow rate: 1.0 mL/min) of ROX, using a C18 column and UV detection at 205 nm. The mobile phase consisted of 0.06 M potassium di-hydrogen orthophosphate buffer (pH adjusted to 7.4 with sodium hydroxide) and acetonitrile in a 50:50 (v/v) ratio. This method showed linearity across the concentration range of 5 - 1000 μg/mL with a correlation coefficient of 0.9999. An average recovery of 101.78% was obtained. Limit of detection (LOD) and lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) values proved that ROX can still be detected at a concentration level of 0.3 μg/mL and accurately quantified at a concentration of 0.5 μg/mL. The specificity testing during method validation proved that this method is suitable for the accurate detection and quantification of ROX even when combined with different compounds typically used during the formulation of topical delivery systems.