Spectrophotometric determination of metoprolol tartrate in pharmaceutical dosage forms on complex formation with Cu(II)

A new, simple, sensitive and accurate spectrophotometric method has been developed for the assay of metoprolol tartrate (MPT), which is based on the complexation of drug with copper(II) [Cu(II)] at pH 6.0, using Britton-Robinson buffer solution, to produce a blue adduct. The latter has a maximum absorbance at 675 nm and obeys Beer's law within the concentration range 8.5-70 μg/mL. Regression analysis of the calibration data showed a good correlation coefficient (r = 0.998) with a limit of detection of 5.56 μg/mL. The proposed procedure has been successfully applied to the determination of this drug in its tablets. In addition, the spectral data and stability constant for the binuclear copper(II) complex of MPT (Cu₂MPT₂Cl₂) have been reported.