Development of the UV-spectrophotometric and extraction-spectrophotometric methods of the atomoxetine quantitative determination suitable for the chemical and toxicological analysis

The acute and lethal antidepressant poisonings have the tendency to grow, therefore, development of the methods for its chemical and toxicological analysis is a topical issue.Aim. To develop and validate the methods for the quantitative determination of atomoxetine, an antidepressant, using available and widely spread methods in the chemical and toxicological analysis practice, such as UV spectrophotometry and extraction-spectrophotometry in the visible region of the spectrum with methyl orange, an acidic azo dye.Materials and methods. Absorbance values of the solutions in the UV and visible regions of the spectrum were measured on a SF-46 spectrophotometer (LOMO), the spectral measurement range was from 190 to 1100 nm. The standard solution of atomoxetine in 0.1 M hydrocloric acid (300 μg/ml) was used for the UV spectrophotometric study, and the standard solution of atomoxetine in water (150 μg/ml) was used for the extraction spectrophotometry in the visible region.Results and discussion. The calibration curve for the UV spectrophotometric method was described by the equation of y = (0.00455 ± 4 · 10-5)x + (0.016 ± 0.005); linearity was observed within the atomoxetine concentration range of 15.0-210 μg/ml; LOD and LOQ were 1.8 μg/ml and 5.6 μg/ml, respectively. The calibration curve for the extraction spectrophotometric method was described by the equation of y = (0.00808 ± 5 · 10-5)x; linearity was observed within the atomoxetine concentrations of 15.0-150.0 μg in a sample; LOD and LOQ were 1.4 μg and 4.3 μg in a sample, respectively.Conclusions. The methods developed for the quantitative determination of atomoxetine using the UV-spectrophotometric method and extraction spectrophotometry in the visible region of the spectrum satisfy the requirements set to the methods recommended for use in the forensic toxicology, and it has been confirmed by the validation characteristics.