Spectrophotometric determination of N-acetyl-L-cysteine and N-(2-mercaptopropionyl)-glycine in pharmaceutical preparations.

A simple spectrophotometric method for the determination of N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) and N-(2-mercaptopropionyl)glycine (MPG) in pharmaceutical preparations was developed, validated, and used. The proposed equilibrium method is based on a coupled two-step redox and complexation reaction. In the first step, Fe(III) is reduced to Fe(II) by NAC or MPG. Subsequently, Fe(II) is complexed with 2,4,6-tripyridyl-s-triazine (TPTZ). Several analytical parameters of the method were optimized for NAC and MPG analysis in the concentration range from 1.0 μM to 100.0 μM. Regression analysis of the calibration data showed a good correlation coefficient (0.9999). The detection limit of the method was 0.14 μM for NAC and 0.13 μM for MPG. The method was successfully applied to quantify NAC and MPG in pharmaceutical preparations. No interferences were observed from common pharmaceutical excipients.