Spectrophotometric determination of Propranolol as Cu(II), Ni(II) and Co(II) dithiocarbamate complexes

A spectrophotometric method was developed for the determination of the beta adrenergic blocking-drug propranolol. The method was based on the formation of Cu(II), Ni(II) and Co(II)-dithiocarbamate complexes from the secondary amine group of propranolol with carbondisulfide (CS₂) and the acetate salts of the metals in ammonia medium. The method was applied to the analysis of propranolol tablets and the results were statistically compared with those obtained by the official method using t- and F-tests. There was no significant difference between the mean values and the precisions of the two methods at the 95% confidence level.