Development and validation of an HPLC method for the determination of fluorouracil in polymeric nanoparticles

The objective of this work was to develop and validate a rapid high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method for the quantitative analysis of fluorouracil (5-FU) in polymeric nanoparticles. Chromatographic analyses were performed on an RP C18 column with a mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile and water (10:90, v/v) at a flow rate of 1 mL/min. The 5-FU was detected and quantitated using a photodiode array detector at a wavelength of 265 nm. The method was shown to be specific and linear in the range of 0.1-10 μg/mL (r = 0.9997). The precision (intraand inter-day) was demonstrated because the maximum relative standard deviation was 3.51%. The method is robust relative to changes in flow rate, column and temperature. The limits of detection and quantitation were 10.86 and 32.78 ng/mL, respectively. The method fulfilled the requirements for reliability and feasibility for application to the quantitative analysis of 5-FU in polymeric nanoparticles.