First-order Derivative Spectrophotometry for the Determination of Vitamin C in Medicament

A novel method for the determination of vitamin C（Vc） is proposed in this article. After the reaction with Folin-Ciocalteau reagent at ambient temperature, Vc solution was scanned at 750--1100 nm, and its first-order derivative spectrum were obtained from the original spectrum. The values of derivative selected at 995 nm were used for determination. It was proved that Vc could quickly react with Folin-Ciocalteau reagent within 5 min and the product was quite stable for a long time. The conditions required for this method is not very complicated, its precision and accuracy are similar to those of the iodometric titration described in Chinese Pharmacopoeia, and the limit of detection is 0.312 μg/mL. The determination of the results of vitamin C tablet, pill, and injection demonstrates that this method has wide pharmaceutical applications.