Highly sensitive kinetic spectrophotometric method for tramadol trace level detection and process optimization using response surface methodology

Tramadol is a centrally acting analgesic-anodyne agent of high oral bioavailability. The tramadol contains a weakly absorbing chromophore in its molecule and it was determined by kinetic spectrophotometric method in pharmaceutical, urine, and blood plasma. Response surface methodology and the central composite design was applied to study the influence of maximum sensitivity, reagents concentration, temperature, and time on the UV-Vis spectrophotometry analysis of tramadol. Analysis of variance showed a high coefficient of determination (R-2) value for responses, confirming adjustment of the models with experimental data. The change in absorbance was followed spectrophotometrically at 478 nm. Under optimum experimental conditions, calibration curve was linear over the range 0.45-100.0 mu g/L of tramadol. The limit of detection was 0.12 mu g/L of tramadol. The developed method was successfully applied for the determination of tramadol in real samples.

Automated summary

The study investigated the analysis of tramadol using UV-Vis spectrophotometry method with response surface methodology and central composite design, showing a good fit between the models and experimental data. The calibration curve was linear and stable, indicating the developed method is reliable for the determination of tramadol in real samples.