Stereospecific Determination of Propranolol by High Performance Liquid Chromatography Using UV Detection

A method for the determination of (+)-(R)- and (-)-(S)-propranolol is described. In this assay rac-propranolol converted to diastereomeric derivatives using (+)-(S)-naphthyl-ethylisocyanate (NEIC) as chiral derivatizing reagent. Separation and quantification of the derivatives are carried out on a Silica normal-phase column using hexane-chloroform-methanol (74.5:25:0.5, v/v/v) as the mobile phase with a flow-rate of 0.8 ml/min. Reagent concentration and reaction time were examined to optimize conditions for maximum derivatization recoveries. The assay was accurate and reproducible in the concentration range of 20-320 ng/ml of (+)-(R)- and (-)-(S)-propranolol.