Development and validation of a simple UV spectrophotometric method for the determination of levofloxacin both in bulk and marketed dosage formulations

A rapid, specific and economic UV spectrophotometric method has been developed using a solvent composed of water:methanol:acetonitrile (9:0.5:0.5) to determine the levofloxacin content in bulk and pharmaceutical dosage formulations. At a pre-determined <i>λ</i>_max of 292 nm, it was proved linear in the range of 1.0-12.0 μg/mL, and exhibited good correlation coefficient (<i>R</i>²=0.9998) and excellent mean recovery (99.00-100.07%). This method was successfully applied to the determination of levofloxacin content in five marketed brands from Bangladesh and the results were in good agreement with the label claims. The method was validated statistically and by recovery studies for linearity, precision, repeatability, and reproducibility. The obtained results proved that the method can be employed for the routine analysis of levofloxacin in bulks as well as in the commercial formulations.