ASSAYS DEPENDING ON MEASUREMENT OF OPTICAL ROTATION (VIC): Many

organic substances, or their solutions, have the property of rotating the plane of
polarized light either to the right or to the left; this property is referred to as the optical
activity or rotation of that substance. Measurement of this rotatory power serves as the
basis for determining the purity, as well as the identity, of a number of official
substances as the optical activity is a function of their chemical constitution, as well as
their concentration. When the rotation is to the right, the dissolved substance is said to
be dextrorotatory; whereas levorotatory substances are those that rotate the plane of
polarized light to the left. The extent of observed rotation is measured and expressed in
terms of degree, and the instrument used in making these measurements is called
polarimeter.
The term optical rotation when used in the official monographs refers to angular
rotation, and this represents the number of degrees a substance, or its solution, under
specified conditions of wavelength of the polarized light, concentration, temperature,
and length of the tube, will rotate the plane of polarization.
The specific rotation, [𝑎], of a liquid is defined as the angular rotation in degrees
through which the plane of polarization of polarized monochromatic light is rotated by
passage through 1 decimeter (100 mm) of the liquid, calculated on the basis of a
specific gravity of 1. In the case of solutions of an optically active substance, the specific
rotation is calculated on the basis of concentration of 1 g of solute in 1 ml of solution.
For calculating the specific rotatory power of an optically active liquid substance,
or the solution of an optically active solid, the following formulas apply generally:

𝑎
For liquid substances, [𝑎]𝑡𝐷 = 𝑙𝑑
100𝑎
For solutions, [𝑎]𝑡𝐷 = 𝑙𝑝𝑑

100𝑎
or [𝑎]𝑡𝐷 = 𝑙𝑒

where
a = the observed rotation in degrees of the liquid at s temperature t, using a sodium
light,
l = the length of the tube in decimeters.
d= the specific gravity of the liquid or solution at the temperature of observation.
p = the concentration of the solution expressed as the number of grams of active
substance in 100 g of solution.
c = the concentration of the solution expressed as the number of grams of active
substance in 100 ml of solution.
t = temperature of measurement
D = D line of sodium (light source)

Reference: Remington: The Science and Practice of Pharmacy 21st edition. Chapter 30: Analysis of
Medicinals page 509.