Photothermal Stability of Metronidazole Benzoate

Abstract

Drugs are essential for human life and are of prime importance to the safety of patients. In this work, the stability of Metronidazole benzoate, in the solid form, towards direct sun light and temperature was investigated. The results obtained revealed that, temperatures below 50o C dose not affect the stability of Metronidazole benzoate while direct sun light does. Hydrolysis of Metronidazole benzoate in both basic medium (Sodium hydroxide solution) and acidic medium (Hydrochloric acid) increases the photodecomposition rate of the drug, although it is more stable in acidic medium. The study shows that photodecomposition of the drug decreases with increasing drug concentration. Thin layer chromatography (TLC) was found to be a reliable and relevant method of qualitative analysis, yet easy to carry out and inexpensive. Spectrophotometry can be used to determine the active ingredient (potency) of the drug. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was found to be cenvient for quantitative analysis of the drug photodecomposition products. IR was found to be a suitable qualitative method of analysis for Metronidazole Benzoate and degraded products; hence it provides a sensitive probe for any degradation in the drug.