A Review on Analytical Method Development for the Estimation of a Potent Muscarinic Receptor Antagonist Tolterodine Tartrate

Background: A pharmaceutical will be clinically accepted if it is impurity-free and its dose is accurately maintained. For this, the contribution of analytical techniques for developing and validating a new pharmaceutical dosage form cannot be overlooked. Introduction: Tolterodine tartrate is a potent competitive muscarinic receptor antagonist. It binds to the muscarinic M3 receptors in the bladder selectively and competitively. It is used to treat urinary incontinence and overactive bladder syndrome. The 5-hydroxymethyl derivative is the pharmacologically active metabolite of Tolterodine tartrate, which is as potent as the main drug. It is available with α-adrenergic blocker Tamsulosin in combined pharmaceutical formulations, treating benign prostatic hyperplasia in men. This review article presents several analytical methods, including HPLC, HPTLC, UV-Visible spectrophotometry, spectrofluorimetry, electroanalytical, and various hyphenated techniques like GC-MS, LC-MS, LC-MS-MS, etc., for estimation of Tolterodine tartrate is present as a single material or in combined form in bulk materials, different pharmaceutical formulations, and biological matrices. Conclusion: HPLC and spectrophotometry are the most widely used methods for determining the drug in the bulk and pharmaceutical dosage form among all these methods. LC-MS and LC-MSMS are widely used for the estimation of Tolterodine tartrate from plasma and other biological fluids. All the methods included in this article are accurate, sensitive, and cost-effective.