Chromatographic assays for folic acid

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Pharmaceutical Analysis

Background:

• Accurate quantification of folic acid is crucial for pharmaceutical quality control.
• Existing colorimetric methods for folic acid analysis exhibit limitations in precision and specificity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate precise and specific analytical methods for folic acid.
• To compare the performance of chromatographic methods against traditional colorimetric assays.

Main Methods:

• Development of a Thin-Layer Chromatography (TLC) assay involving spectrophotometric determination post-extraction.
• Establishment of a High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) assay utilizing an octadecylsilane column.
• Potentiometric determination of water content for accurate purity assessment.

Main Results:

• Both TLC and HPLC methods demonstrated high precision and specificity.
• Chromatographic methods provided consistent assay results, outperforming colorimetric approaches.
• Separation of various impurities, including p-aminobenzoic acid and pteridine derivatives, was achieved.

Conclusions:

• TLC and HPLC are reliable and specific methods for folic acid quantification.
• Chromatographic techniques offer superior accuracy and specificity compared to direct and USP XIX colorimetric methods.
• These validated methods are suitable for accurate folic acid purity determination in pharmaceutical samples.