UV spectrophotometric method for the estimation of pure nicotine

Abstract

Ultraviolet (UV) spectrophotometry is a simple, precise, and economical analytical technique widely used for quantitative estimation of organic and pharmaceutical compounds. The present study focuses on the development and validation of a UV spectrophotometric method for the estimation of pure nicotine. Nicotine, a tertiary amine alkaloid primarily found in tobacco leaves, possesses characteristic UV absorbance due to its conjugated pyridine and pyrrolidine rings, exhibiting a maximum absorption wavelength (λmax) around 260 nm. Methanol was selected as the optimal solvent because of its high transparency in the UV region and excellent solubility for nicotine. The proposed method was validated according to the International Council for Harmonisation (ICH) Q2(R2) guidelines by assessing parameters such as linearity, accuracy, precision, limit of detection (LOD), limit of quantitation (LOQ), robustness, and ruggedness. The calibration curve demonstrated good linearity within the range of 2–12 µg/mL with a correlation coefficient (r²) greater than 0.998. Recovery studies confirmed the accuracy of the method, while %RSD values below 2% indicated excellent precision. The LOD and LOQ were found to be within acceptable limits, establishing the method’s sensitivity and reliability. The results confirm that the developed UV spectrophotometric method is simple, accurate, reproducible, and suitable for routine quality control analysis of nicotine in pure and pharmaceutical formulations.