Utilization of Chemometric-Aided UV Spectrophotometric Methods for Concurrent Assessment of Emtricitabine, Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate, Elvitegravir, and Cobicistat in Tablet Formulation

Abstract

Background Emtricitabine (ETC), Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TNF), Elvitegravir (EVG), and Cobicistat (CBS) are antiviral drugs used to treat human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections. Objective To develop chemometric-aided UV spectrophotometric methods for concurrent estimation of the aforementioned drugs used to treat HIV. This method can be used to reduce the modification of the calibration model by assessing the absorbance at various points in the zero-order spectra within the selected wavelength range. Additionally, it eliminates interfering signals and provides sufficient resolution in multi-component systems. Methods Two Chemo-metric assisted UV-spectrophotometric methods, namely, partial least square (PLS) and principal component regression (PCR) models, were established for the concurrent assessment of EVG, CBS, TNF, and ETC in tablet formulations. The proposed methods were applied to decrease complexity of overlapped spectra and to achieve maximum sensitivity and the lowest error. These approaches were performed in accordance with ICH criteria and compared to the reported HPLC method. Results The proposed methods were used to assess EVG, CBS, TNF, and ETC in the range of 5–30 µg/mL, 5–30 µg/mL, 5–50 µg/mL and 5–50 µg/mL, respectively, with an excellent correlation coefficient (r ≥ 0.998). The accuracy and precision results were found to be within the acceptable limit. No statistical difference was observed between the proposed and reported studies. Conclusion The chemometric aided UV-spectrophotometric approaches could be taken into consideration as an alternative of chromatographic procedures in the pharmaceutical industry for routine analysis and testing of readily accessible commercial formulations. Highlights Novel chemometric-UV assisted spectrophotometric techniques were developed for assessment of multicomponent antiviral combinations in single tablet formulations. The proposed methods were performed without using harmful solvents, tedious handling, or expensive instruments. The proposed methods were compared statistically with reported HPLC method. Assessment of the EVG, CBS, TNF, and ETC was performed without interference from excipients in their multicomponent formulations.