Available online www.jocpr.com Journal of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Research, 2016, 8(4):272-278 Research Article ISSN : 0975-7384 CODEN(USA) : JCPRC5 272 UV Spectrophotometric Estimation of Alprazolam by second and third order derivative Methods in Bulk and Pharmaceutical Dosage Form Rajan V. Rele* and Amey V. Deshpande Central Research Laboratory, D. G. Ruparel College, Matunga, Mumbai 400016. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACT Simple and economical UV spectrophotometric methods by second order and third order derivative have been developed for the estimation of alprazolam in bulk and its tablet formulation. The standard and sample solutions of alprazolam were prepared in 0.1N hydrochloric acid. Alprazolam was estimated at 234 nm for the second order derivative and at 220 nm for third order derivative methods. Beer’s law was obeyed in the concentration range of 1 to 12 µg / ml with coefficient of correlation value 0.9994 for second order and 0.9996 for third order derivative method respectively. A validation of above methods was carried out as per ICH guidelines. The precision expressed as relative standard deviation were of 1.063978 % and 0.889569 % for the above two methods respectively. The proposed methods were easily applied for the estimation of alprazolam in pharmaceutical dosages forms. Results of the analysis were found to be satisfactory statistically. The proposed methods are simple, low-cost and require relatively inexpensive instruments. Keywords: Alprazolam, UV spectroscopy, Derivative spectroscopy, 0.1 N hydrochloric acid _____________________________________________________________________________________________ INTRODUCTION Alprazolam is chemically 8-chloro-1-methyl-6-phenyl-4H-(1,2,4) triazolo (4,3a)1,4-benzodiazepine, which is a short acting anxiolytic drug. It also possesses sedative, hypnotic, anticonvulsant, amnesic and skeletal muscle relaxant property. Alprazolam is a short-acting drug of the benzodiazepine. It is used to treat moderate to severe anxiety disorders and panic attacks and is used as an adjunctive treatment for anxiety associated with moderate depression. Alprazolam may be habit-forming, and long-term use and abuse may cause a physical dependence to develop along with withdrawal reactions during abrupt or rapid discontinuation. Although the side-effect profile of alprazolam may occur in some patients. Some side-effects may disappear with continued treatment. If signs of an allergic reaction occur - such as hives; difficulty breathing; swelling of face, lips, tongue, or throat. Literature survey reveals the HPLC [1] and spectrophotometric [2-4] methods for the estimation of alprazolam. Simple, rapid and reliable UV spectrophotometric methods are developed for the determination of alprazolam. These methods can be used for the routine analysis. In the proposed methods optimization and validation of this method are reported.