Simple, fast, and sensitive isocratic high-performance liquid chromatography method for the quantification of latanoprost

A simple, sensitive, fast, and accurate isocratic high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method with UV detection (205 nm) has been developed and validated for the quantification of latanoprost (in nanogram level) in pure and commercial dosage form. An Agilent Eclipse XDB-C18 column (150 × 4.6 mm i.d., 3.5 μm particle size) was used. Chromatography was performed with a mobile phase containing a mixture of acetonitrile and water (70:30, v/v) containing 0.1% v/v trifluoroacetic acid, adjusted at pH 3.0 at a flow rate of 1 mL min-1. Each analysis required 3.0 min including triamcinolone acetonide as an internal standard. The method was validated for linearity, accuracy, precision, specificity, system suitability, and robustness. The calibration curve was linear in the concentration range 0.0125–1 μg mL-1; the correlation coefficient was 0.999. The method proved to be accurate, precise, specific, rapid, and reproducible according to ICH standards. The method showed good recoveries (average 100.15 %), and the relative standard deviations of intra- and inter-day were <2.0%. This method is novel since there has been no report about analysis of latanoprost at ng mL-1 levels using a simple HPLC method. Besides regular quality control assay of latanoprost in raw material and in commercial formulations, this method has key importance for scientists working on sustained drug delivery system of latanoprost in which quantification in nanogram levels is one of the most important parameters.