A simple, accurate and precise flow-injection turbidimetric procedure is reported for the determination of acetylcysteine in pharmaceutical formulations. The procedure is based on the precipitation of acetylcysteine with silver nitrate solution in acid medium and the insoluble salt produced was monitored at 410 nm. The analytical curve for acetylcysteine was linear in the concentration range from 1.0 × 10-4 to 1.0 × 10-3 mol L-1 with a detection limit of 5.0 × 10-5 mol L-1. The sampling rate was 60 h-1 and the relative standard deviations (RSDs) were less than 2.0% for 1.0 × 10-4 and 5.0 × 10-4 mol L-1 acetylcysteine solutions (n=10). The recovery of this analyte in four samples ranged from 97.6 to 103 %. A paired t-test showed that all results obtained for acetylcysteine in pharmaceutical products using the proposed flow-injection procedure and the official procedure agreed at the 95% confidence level.
flow injection; turbidimetry; acetylcysteine; pharmaceuticals; silver nitrate
