Abstract
The behaviour of mitoxantrone (MTX), an anthracenedione antineoplastic agent, in different types of organized medium was explored using molecular spectrofluorometry. The original fluorescence and quantum yield of MTX were augmented by about five‐fold in the aqueous buffered solution (Britton–Robinson, pH 3.0) by the addition of sodium dodecyl sulfate. Enhancement in the fluorescence intensity did not come from the boost in the ultraviolet (UV) light absorbance of the drug in the presence of micelles but due to shielding of the lowest excited singlet state of the drug from a radiationless process inside the cavity of the micelle. Accordingly, a versatile, sensitive, and feasible spectrofluorimetric method was constructed and evaluated for MTX determination. Fluorescence measurements were performed at 675 nm (λex 610 nm). A linear relationship was shown between fluorescence intensity and drug concentration within the range 0.01–2.0 μg ml−1 of MTX with a correlation coefficient of 0.9999 and a detection limit of 2 ng ml−1. The developed method was effectively used for analysis of MTX in biological samples and dosage forms. In addition, the method was expanded to study the stability of MTX exposed to different drastic degradations and the kinetic parameters of the degradation were calculated.
Augmentation of the fluorescence activity of mitoxantrone in an aqueous system and in a micellar system of sodium dodecyl sulfate.