Colorimetric determination of certain phenothiazine drugs by using morpholine and iodine-potassium iodide reagents.

A colorimetric method was developed for the quantitative estimation of 11 phenothiazine drugs. The method is based on the interaction of unsulfoxidized drug with morpholine and iodine-potassium iodide reagents. The interaction for all studied phenothiazine drugs yields a blue product with 2 absorption maxima: one in the range of 620-640 nm with lower molar absorptivity and the other in the range of 662-690 nm with higher molar absorptivity. The color was stable for at least 10 h. The reproducibility and recovery of the method were excellent. The method was applied successfully to the analysis of various commercially available phenothiazines in different dosage forms. The results were comparable to those obtained by official procedures. The suitability of the method for detection and estimation of promethazine excreted in urine has been suggested by preliminary experiments. Reaction products have been isolated and identified.