Spectrophotometric determination of hydroxylamine and its derivatives in pharmaceuticals

A sensitive spectrophotometric method for the determination of hydroxylamine is described. The method is based on the oxidation of hydroxylamine to nitrite using sodium arsenate under alkaline condition. The formed nitrite is determined based on the diazo coupling reaction between p-nitroaniline and N-(1-naphthyl)ethylenediamine dihydrochloride [NEDA]. The system obeys Beer's law over the concentration range 0-7 mug of hydroxylamine at 545 nm and the colour is stable for 3 h. The molar absorptivity of the colour system is found to be 6.7 X 10(4) l mol(-1) cm(-1). The relative standard deviation is 1.2% for ten determinations at 4 mug of hydroxylamine. Interferences due to various foreign ions have been studied and the method has been applied to the determination of hydroxylamine and its derivatives used in pharmaceutical formulations after hydrolysis.