A new, rapid, sensitive, and specific method for the determination of methoxsalen in dosage forms using HPLC has been developed. methoxsalen is extracted in chloroform, evaporated on a water bath, and the residue is redissolved in ethanol. A standard solution of khellin (internal standard) in ethanol is added, and injected. A plot of peak height ratio (methoxsalen/internal standard) vs. concentration of methoxsalen gave a straight line (r=0.998). The column used was a stainless steel, 3.8 mm×30 cm, and the mobile phase was methanol: water (60

40) at a flow rate of 2 cm
3/min. Retention times for methoxsalen and khellin were 3.45 and 9.6 min, respectively. This method was found superior to the spectrophotometric assay in that no interference was encountered from structurally similar compounds or from coloring agents used in some commercial methoxsalen products.
Key Words High-performance liquid chromatography - Methoxsalen - determination of