Spectrometric Smartphone-Based System for Ibuprofen Quantification in Commercial Dosage Tablets

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Pharmaceutical Analysis
• Spectrometry

Background:

• Quality control of pharmaceutical products requires accurate and accessible analytical methods.
• Portable analytical systems offer potential for point-of-use testing in diverse settings.
• Ibuprofen (IBU) is a widely used nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug requiring reliable quantification.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a rapid and portable analytical methodology for ibuprofen quantification in commercial dosage tablets.
• To utilize a smartphone-based spectrometric system for point-of-use sample preparation and detection.
• To demonstrate the utility of this method for portable quality control of pharmaceuticals.

Main Methods:

• Ibuprofen was dissolved in methanol and complexed with Co(II).
• Dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction was used to extract the Co-IBU complex.
• Absorption spectra were measured using a smartphone-based spectrometric system with a compatible cartridge.
• Multivariate analysis optimized experimental factors for microextraction.

Main Results:

• A working range of 20–80 μg mL^-1 was achieved with a correlation coefficient of 0.996.
• The limit of detection was 4 μg mL^-1 and the limit of quantification was 12 μg mL^-1.
• Recovery values ranged from 97% to 105% in commercial tablet samples.

Conclusions:

• The developed smartphone-based spectrometric method provides a viable tool for portable ibuprofen quantification.
• The methodology is suitable for real-world quality control applications in pharmaceutical analysis.
• Results are comparable to standard titrimetric methods, indicating high accuracy and reliability.