Spectrophotometric Method for the Determination of Stavudine Residues in Swab Samples

The objective of present investigation was to develop a simple, cheap, fast, accurate, sensitive and precise UV spectrophotometric method that can be used for the determination of stavudine residues in swab samples. The drug standard solution was scanned over entire UV range and a wavelength of 266

nm was selected for analysis. The swabbing procedure was optimized in order to obtain a suitable recovery from stainless steel surface using Tex Wipe Polyurethane swab stick. The drug solution showed sufficient absorption at 266 nm and low quantities of stavudine may be detected correctly. A

mean recovery of 99 % was obtained, when swabs dipped in water were used. Beer’s law is valid in concentration range of 1-20 mcg/mL. The results were found to be satisfactory with good stability up to 48 hours at ambient temperature.