Thin-layer chromatographic selective and stability-indicating method for assay of cefixime in pharmaceuticals

A thin-layer chromatographic (TLC) method is developed for the analysis of cefixime using precoated silica gel 60F254 TLC aluminum sheets as stationary phase. The mobile phase was optimized to ensure that no other drug from cephalosporin class and degradation products (formed under stress condition) of the drug interfered with the estimation. By using toluene-ethyl acetate-formic acid-water (10:58:22:10, ν/ν) as mobile phase, a sharp, well-defined, and symmetrical peak was obtained in the chromatogram with an RF value 0.54 ± 0.02. Densitometric measurement was made in the reflectance/absorbance mode at 293 nm. The calibration curve was established as dependence of peak area on amount 500–1500 ng. The second-order polynomial fit was deduced to be suitable for the quantitative analysis. The method was validated as per International Conference on Harmonization guidelines. The method is simple, sensitive, selective, and precise. It can be applied for the quantitative analysis of cefixime in raw materials, marketed tablets, and counterfeit samples.