Simple Spectrophotometric Methods for Determination of Tenofovir Fumarate and Emtricitabine in Bulk Powder and in Tablets

Two simple and selective methods were developed for the simultaneous determination of tenofovir fumarate (TEN) and emtricitabine (EMT) in combined tablets. The first method involves the application of first derivative spectrophotometry where the first derivative amplitudes were measured at 298.5 nm for determination of EMT in presence of TEN. The second method involves first derivative of ratio spectra spectrophotometry where the amplitudes at 251.5 nm have been used for quantitation of TEN in the presence of EMT. Different variables affecting each method were carefully investigated and optimized. Reliability and analytical performance of the proposed methods, including linearity, range, precision, accuracy, detection, and quantitation limits, were statistically validated. The methods were successfully applied for the determination of EMT and TEN in laboratory-prepared mixtures and in their combined tablets.