First UV‐Based Strategies Integrating Whiteness, Greenness, and Blueness Appraisals for Estimating Meloxicam and Tramadol Concurrently in Their Veterinary Mixture

Abstract

Multimodal pain therapy, which combines drugs from different classes targeting distinct pain pathways, such as opioids and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), provides enhanced pain control in veterinary practice compared with single-agent therapy. Meloxicam (MXC), an NSAID, is frequently formulated with tramadol hydrochloride (TDH), a widely used opioid analgesic, for synergistic pain management. A comprehensive survey of the available literature revealed that no analytical method has yet been reported for the concurrent determination of meloxicam and tramadol. Therefore, this work introduces two facile and eco-friendly UV spectrophotometric methodologies for the simultaneous assay of meloxicam and tramadol in their pure forms and veterinary dosage forms. Due to the significant spectral overlap between meloxicam and tramadol, direct concurrent analysis is challenging. To resolve this spectral interference, Fourier deconvolution (FDC) and dual-wavelength (DWL) methods were developed, providing linear ranges of 2-25 µg/mL for meloxicam and 10-170 µg/mL for tramadol with satisfactory sensitivity. The proposed methods were validated according to ICH guidelines and statistically compared with the reported methods for the individual drugs using appropriate statistical tests. Furthermore, their environmental sustainability was comprehensively assessed using the AGREEprep metric, complemented by whiteness and practicality evaluations based on the RGB12 algorithm and the BAGI tool. The results demonstrate that the proposed UV methods are sustainable, sensitive, specific, and suitable for the routine simultaneous analysis of meloxicam and tramadol in veterinary dosage forms.