A spectrophotometric assay for quantification of artemisinin

A sensitive and rapid spectrophotometric method for determination of artemisinin concentration is described. The method is based on the measurement of a reaction product of the drug in strong alkali solution. The interaction produces a homogenous electronic transition band from 250 to 330 nm with maximum transition at around 291 nm. The absorption curve shows Gaussian distribution with identical half bandwidth, thus providing information for formation of a possible mono-type reaction product. The 291 nm absorption intensity increases with increasing concentration of artemisinin and obeys Beer's law in the range of 0.44-172 nmol (ml(-1)). The optimum reaction conditions and other analytical parameters were evaluated including its recovery from human plasma and erythrocyte samples. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.