High-pressure liquid chromatographic assay of dextromethorphan hydrobromide, guaifenesin, and sodium benzoate in an expectorant syrup.

An ion-pair reversed-phase high-pressure liquid chromatographic assay is developed that allows simultaneous quantitation of guaifenesin, dextromethorphan hydrobromide, and sodium benzoate in an expectorant syrup. The method is rapid and accurate. Average recoveries of 99.6, 99.8, and 99.7% with relative standard deviations of 0.5, 0.9, and 0.2% are obtained for guaifenesin, dextromethorphan hydrobromide, and sodium benzoate, respectively, from laboratory prepared samples. Chromatographic conditions are selected to afford a pH that provides adequate separation of guaifenesin, dextromethorphan hydrobromide, sodium benzoate, and sodium saccharin and a detection wavelength that effectively compensates for the great disparity in quantity between guaifenesin and dextromethorphan hydrobromide present in syrups. The relationships between the retention volume of dextromethorphan hydrobromide and the alkyl chain length as well as the concentration of the counterion are studied. The retention profiles for sodium saccharin, guaifenesin, sodium benzoate, and dextromethorphan hydrobromide in the apparent pH range of 2.5 to 6.6 are established.