Determination of fluvoxamine and moclobemide in tablets by densitometric and videodensitometric TLC

New, simple, rapid, and accurate thin-layer chromatographic methods have been established for determination of fluvoxamine and moclobemide in tablets. The drugs were chromatographed on silica gel 60 F-254 plates in horizontal chambers with benzene-acetone-ethanol-25% aqueous ammonia, 9 + 7 + 2 + 1 (v/v), as mobile phase. Densitometric detection and quantification were performed at lambda = 249 nm and lambda= 236 nm, respectively, for fluvoxamine and moclobemide; videodensitometric detection was performed at lambda = 254 nm for both drugs. The range of linearity was 1-10 mug per spot for fluvoxamine and moclobemide for both methods. The relative standard deviation for determination of these antidepressants in pharmaceuticals was less than 2.5% for densitometry and less than 5.1% for videodensitometry. Recovery of fluvoxamine from tablets was 101.20% by use of densitometry and 98.96% by use of videodensitometry; recovery of moclobemide from tablets was 101.15% and 98.81% respectively.