Analytical Method (HPLC) for Determination of Digitalis as a Cardiotonic Drug

Digitalis, a cardiotonic used for the treatment of heart conditions like atrial fibrillation and heart failure is one of this well-known drugs. My favourite Cinchona80 is mixed with plant Digitalis purpurea. When the pump of Na+/K+-ATPase is inhibited, digoxin and digitoxin both augment myocardial contractility. Given the narrow therapeutic index of digitalis glycosides, their accurate quantification in pharmaceutical formulations and bio-fluids is necessary to determine drug efficacy as well as safety. The accurate and reliable quantitation of digitalis glycosides using High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) has been established. Due to the high sensitivity, selectivity and accuracy this method is well-fitting for quantitation of digitalis in plasma or urine samples. For implementation, reversed phase HPLC using UV or fluorescence detection is generally applied with C18 columns being the most popular. Adding these buffers to an acetonitrile-water mixture can ensure that the mobile phases have their pH in a right place for both analyte stability and retention.