Determination of the Physicochemical Properties of Piroxicam

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the acid dissociation constant (pKa) of piroxicam using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectrophotometry, and to determine the partition coefficient (Log P), distribution coefficient (Log D), and "Log kw" values of piroxicam using HPLC. Materials and Methods: The HPLC studies were performed on a reversed-phase ACE C18 (150x4.6 mm ID, 5 mu m) column at a flow rate of 1.0 mL min-1. The detector was set to 360 nm. Log D at different pH values (3.0-6.5) was examined with a phosphate buffer (20 mM) and acetonitrile (30:70 v/v) mixture as the mobile phase. For pKa determination, HPLC studies were performed with a mixture of phosphate buffer (20 mM) and methanol within the pH range of 3.50-6.00. Log kw measurements were performed with phosphate buffer (20 mM) and MeOH (from 20:80 v/v to 10:90 v/v) mixtures within the pH range of 3.50-6.00. UV-Vis spectrophotometric pKa measurements were performed at 285 nm wavelength. Results: The pKa value of piroxicam was found to be 5.3 by HPLC and 5.7 by UV-Vis spectrophotometry. Log P of piroxicam was determined as 1.58 in our experimental conditions. Log D values were 1.57, 1.57, 1.44, 1.13, and 0.46 for pH values of 3.17, 3.79, 4.44, 5.42, and 6.56, respectively. Conclusion: In the literature, different Log P (3.1, 2.2, and 0.6) and pKa (6.3 and 4.8) values were reported for piroxicam. The Log P (1.58) and pKa (5.3 and 5.7) values obtained for piroxicam in our study were within the range of the literature values. All these results indicate that different experimental approaches used for the determination of physicochemical properties could provide different values. Although UV spectrophotometry is easy to apply, HPLC is a unique technique for simultaneous determination of pKa, Log D, and Log P values of compounds.