Validated RP-HPLC method for determination of permethrin in bulk and topical preparations using UV-vis detector.

An isocratic reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the estimation of permethrin in raw materials and pharmaceutical topical preparations has been devised and validated. The chromatographic analysis was performed on a 5 μm particle C-18 Nucleosil (Macherey-Nagel, Germany) column (250 × 4.6 mm). Mobile phase consisted of methanol and 0.025 mM Phosphoric acid (85:15 v/v) at a flow rate of 1.5 mL/min. UV detection was performed at 272 nm and peaks were identified with retention times as compared with standards. The limit of detection was 1.782 μg/mL, while limit of quantitation was 48.0 μg/mL. The calibration was linear in a concentration range of 48.0-5000 μg/mL with correlation coefficient of 0.999978. Regression equation was absorbance =2833.23 × concentration(μg/mL) + 19.1045 with variance of the response variable, S(yx)(2), calculated to be 1.75328 (six degrees of freedom). The method was validated as per ICH guidelines and USP requirements and found advantageous for the routine analysis of the drug in pharmaceutical formulations and in pharmaceutical investigations involving permethrin.