Application of Box-Behnken design and desirability function in the optimization of spectrophotometric method for the quantification of WADA banned drug: Acetazolamide

Experimental design approach was used to optimize the experimental factors in developing a spectrophotometric method for quantification of acetazolamide using N-bromosuccinimide (NBS) as a reagent In this method, a known excess of NBS was mixed with acetazolamide in acid medium and the unreacted NBS was treated with methyl orange which was monitored at 513 nm. The effects of critical factors such as volumes of 5.60 x 10(-4) mol L-1 NBS, 0.5 mol L-1 HCl, 4.2 x 10(-2) mol L-1 KBr and 1.53 x 10(-4) mol L-1 methyl orange on the absorbance were analysed and these factors were optimized using Box-Behnken design (BBD) and desirability function. The calibration curve was linear in the range of 6-18 mu g mL(-1) with a correlation coefficient of 0.9999. The detection limit was 0.023 mu g mL(-1). The method was used to quantify the acetazolamide content in commercial tablets and urine samples. The percentage recoveries of acetazolamide in urine samples were found to vary from 96.22-96.39%. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.