A novel eco-friendly HPTLC approach for the simultaneous determination of erdosteine, ibuprofen and pseudoephedrine pharmaceutical combination

Abstract This paper introduces the first validated and ecofriendly high-performance thin-layer chromatographic (HPTLC) method for the simultaneous determination of erdosteine (ERD), ibuprofen (IBU), and pseudoephedrine (PSE) pharmaceutical combination. This drug combination aids in treating symptoms associated with upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) by providing mucolytic, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and decongestant effects within a single therapeutic regimen. The chromatographic separation was effectively achieved on a silica gel 60F 254 plate using a mobile phase composed of ethyl acetate: methanol: ammonia (7:1.4:0.5, v/v), and UV detection at 210 nm. The analytes were well resolved with retardation factors (R f ) of 0.06, 0.23, and 0.35 for ERD, IBU, and PSE, respectively. The method demonstrated high accuracy, with recoveries ranging from 98.4% to 101.2% and excellent precision, as indicated by % RSD values below 2%. It also showed high sensitivity, with detection limits of 0.014 µg/spot, 0.002 µg/spot and 0.150 µg/spot for ERD, IBU, and PSE, respectively. The method’s environmental sustainability was confirmed using the Analytical EcoScale, Analytical GREEnness (AGREE) calculator and Green Analytical Procedure Index (GAPI). Additionally, its overall whiteness profile was assessed using the Red-Green-Blue (RGB12) model approach, highlighting its analytical efficiency and eco-friendly design.