New alternative analytical to quantify the anti-leprosy drug dapsone by UV spectrophotometry

Dapsone is the drug of choice for leprosy treatment. Despite the existence of previous analytical methods, this study aimed to develop a new analytical alternative for dapsone quantification by UV spectrophotometry. Since the pharmacopeial method uses methanol, a toxic solvent, the method was developed using first dilution in ethanol (500 μg/mL) and second dilution in water (5 μg/mL), with quantification in 295 nm. For validation, the specificity was confirmed by quantification of degraded samples using the developed method in comparison with a second analytical technique (HPLC-DAD). The proposed method proved to be specific, linear, precise, accurate and robust, with analytical low cost and toxicity, besides presenting operational ease. Colegio de Farmacéuticos de la Provincia de Buenos Aires