Method development for simultaneous determination of active ingredients in cough and cold pharmaceuticals by high performance liquid chromatography.

A rapid, simple and efficient liquid chromatographic method was developed for simultaneous determination of three active ingredients namely, chlorpheniramine maleate, phenylephrine hydrochloride and guaifenesin along with sodium benzoate preservative common cold medications (syrups) and the method was validated based on the International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) and United State Pharmacopeia (USP) guidelines. Separation of the analytes was achieved within 15 min on a nucleosil gravity phenyl column in a single run with a mobile phase consisting of methanol: buffer mixture (15:85 v/v) at room temperature, in isocratic mode with flow rate of 0.8 mL min.