Analytical Use of Prussian Blue to the Assay of Hydroxyurea in Capsule

Abstract

The research involves a simple and sensitive spectrophotometric method for the determination of hydroxyurea in aqueous solution by two steps. The first step depends on the reduction of ferric ions by hydroxyurea to ferrous ions, and in the second step the later reacts with potassium ferricyanide to form a stable prussian blue. This dye is soluble in water and gives absorption maxima at 700 nm. Beer's law was obeyed over the range 1-100 µg of hydroxyurea per 20 ml (i.e 0.05 – 5 ppm) with a corresponding molar absorptivity of 2.4×1041.mol-1.cm-1, Sandell's sensitivity index of 0.0032 µg cm-2 and average relative standard deviation of ± 0.33%, depending on the concentration level, and the t-test value comes to be (0.91) which is less than its table value (2.361) at a confidence level of 95% for 8 degrees of freedom which applies credibility to the suggested method. The method had been applied successfully to determination of hydroxyurea in capsule.