Ultrasensitive analysis of the commonly abused CNS antitussive, dextromethorphan in biological fluids and dosage forms using a novel micellar-sensitized spectrofluorimetric approach: Compliance with greenness and blueness metrics

Aya Saad Radwan; Mohamed A El Hamd; Mahmoud El-Maghrabey; Lateefa A Al-Khateeb; Wael A Mahdi; Sultan Alshehri; Wejdan T Alsaggaf; Safaa F Saleh; Angum M M Ibrahim; Bandar R Alsehli; Galal Magdy

doi:10.1016/j.saa.2024.125644

Ultrasensitive analysis of the commonly abused CNS antitussive, dextromethorphan in biological fluids and dosage forms using a novel micellar-sensitized spectrofluorimetric approach: Compliance with greenness and blueness metrics

Spectrochim Acta A Mol Biomol Spectrosc. 2024 Dec 19:329:125644. doi: 10.1016/j.saa.2024.125644. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Horus University-Egypt, New Damietta, Egypt. Electronic address: ayasradwan93@gmail.com.
² Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, Shaqra University, Shaqra 11961, Saudi Arabia; Department of Pharmaceutical Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, South Valley University, Qena 83523, Egypt. Electronic address: aboelhamdmohamed@su.edu.sa.
³ Department of Pharmaceutical Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mansoura University, Mansoura 35516, Egypt. Electronic address: dr_m_hamed@mans.edu.eg.
⁴ Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, P.O Box 80200, Jeddah 21589, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
⁵ Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2457, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia.
⁶ Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, P. O. Box 42906, Jeddah 21551, Saudi Arabia.
⁷ Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Pharmacognosy Department, College of Pharmacy, Jazan University, Jazan 45142, Saudi Arabia; Department of Pharmaceutical Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Fayoum University, Fayoum 63514, Egypt.
⁸ Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Al Rayan Private College of Health Sciences and Nursing, PO Box 167, Almadinah Al-Manawarah 41411, Saudi Arabia.
⁹ Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Taibah University, Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah 30002, Saudi Arabia.
¹⁰ Pharmaceutical Analytical Chemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafrelsheikh 33511, Egypt. Electronic address: galal_magdy@pharm.kfs.edu.eg.

PMID: 39736185
DOI: 10.1016/j.saa.2024.125644

Abstract

The current study introduces the first micellar-enhanced spectrofluorimetric approach for the estimation of the commonly abused CNS antitussive, dextromethorphan (DXM) in its syrup and biological fluids. A micellar solution of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) containing DXM showed high native fluorescence emission at 305 nm following excitation at 224 nm. Using SDS as a micellar system resulted in about a 2.5-fold increase in the drug's fluorescence intensity and quantum yield as well as the sensitivity of the approach. A thorough investigation was conducted into the experimental factors affecting the studied drug's spectrofluorimetric behavior. Additionally, the quantum yield of DXM was calculated, and it was found to reach up to 22 %. A calibration plot with a straight line was produced across the concentration range of 10.0-200.0 ng/mL. The suggested approach demonstrated excellent sensitivity down to the nanogram level, with 1.80 ng/mL for the detection limit and 5.47 ng/mL for the quantification limit. The drug under study was successfully analyzed in syrup using the designed approach, which yielded low %RSD values (≤0.882) and high %recoveries (99.20-101.00). The efficacy of the suggested fluorimetric technique in detecting DXM in human plasma and urine samples has been demonstrated with excellent recovery (98.12-101.35) and %RSD (≤1.39) values owing to its high sensitivity and selectivity. As DXM is one of the most commonly abused CNS antitussives, the capacity of the proposed method for its analysis in biological fluids can provide further insights for monitoring its potential abuse. The excellent greenness and eco-friendliness of the method were confirmed using GAPI and AGREE metrics, while the BAGI tool assessed its economy, practicality, and applicability. The method was fully validated according to ICH Q2 (R2) guidelines.

Keywords: Antitussive; Biological fluids; Dextromethorphan; Drug of abuse; Spectrofluorimetry.