Sodium Cobaltinitrite as a Reagent for Determining Some Phenolic Drugs

Dichlorophen, oxyphenbutazone, phenazone, methyldopa, isoprenaline sulfate, and salbutamol sulfate are reacted with sodium cobaltinitrite in aqueous acetic acid. The yellow color is measured at 365, 320, 320, 330, 425, and 325 nm in aqueous acetic acid, respectively, and at 445, 380, 375, 345, 325, and 412 nm in sodium hydroxide, respectively. The reaction product is extractable with CHC13, with a maximum absorption at 370 nm for dichlorophen, 355 nm for phenazone, and 325 nm for oxyphenbutazone. The method is applied to the determination of these drugs in tablet form. The results obtained are reasonably reproducible with a coefficient of variation less than 2%.