Spectrophotometric and column high-performance liquid chromatographic methods for simultaneous estimation of metoprolol tartrate and hydrochlorothiazide in tablets

Simple, accurate, economical, and reproducible UV spectrophotometric and column high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) methods were developed for simultaneous estimation of a 2-component drug mixture of metoprolol tartrate and hydrochlorothiazide in combined tablet dosage form. The first method used the simultaneous equation method with 7 mixed standards and the absorption maxima at 223 and 271 nm, respectively, for metoprolol tartrate and hydrochlorothiazide in methanol. Linearity was observed in the concentration ranges of 4-24 and 2-16 microg/mL for metoprolol tartrate and hydrochlorothiazide, respectively. The developed HPLC method used a reversed-phase C18 column and methanol-water (95 + 5) mobile phase at an ambient temperature of 27 +/- 2 degrees C and UV detection at 225 nm; the run time was 10 min, and quantification was based on peak area. The injection repeatability and intraday and interday repeatability were calculated. Paracetamol was used as an internal standard for the HPLC method, and linearity was observed in the concentration range of 5-50 microg/mL for metoprolol and 2-20 microg/mL for hydrochlorothiazide. The proposed methods were successfully applied for the determination of metoprolol tartrate and hydrochlorothiazide in bulk powder and dosage form. The results obtained were analyzed statistically, and there was no significant difference between the 2 methods. The validation was performed according to International Conference on Harmonization guidelines.     

A porous graphitized carbon column HPLC method for the quantification of paracetamol, pseudoephedrine, and chlorpheniramine in a pharmaceutical formulation

A simple, rapid, and stability-indicating HPLC method has been developed, fully validated, and applied to the quantification of paracetamol, pseudoephedrine hydrochloride, and chlorpheniramine maleate in a pharmaceutical formulation, using hydrochlorothiazide as an internal standard. Chromatographic separation was achieved isocratically on an RP porous graphitized carbon analytical column (125 x 2.1 mm id, particle size 5 microm) using 5.0 mM ammonium acetate-acetonitrile (35 + 65, v/v) mobile phase at a flow rate of 0.50 mL/min. UV spectrophotometric detection at 220 nm was used. The method had linear calibration curves over the range of 30-70 microg/mL for paracetamol, 1.8-4.2 microg/mL for pseudoephedrine hydrochloride, and 120-280 ng/mL for chlorpheniramine maleate. The intraday and interday RSD values were less than 3.2% for all compounds, while the relative error was less than 2.9%. Accelerated stability studies performed under various stress conditions proved the selectivity of the method. The developed method was applied successfully to QC and content uniformity tests of commercial tablets.     

Development of a simple and sensitive high-performance liquid chromatography method for determination of glucosamine in pharmaceutical formulations

A column high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was developed for the determination of glucosamine in dosage forms. Glucosamine was derivatized by addition of a solution containing orthophthaldialdehyde. The HPLC separation was achieved on a Spherimage 80 ODS2 column (250 x 4 mm id, 5 microm particle size) using an isocratic mobile phase containing phosphate buffer-methanol (90 + 10, v/v, pH 6.50) and methanol-tetrahydrofuran (97 + 3, v/v) in proportions of 85 + 15 at a flow rate of 1 mL/min, followed by fluorescence detection. The method was validated for specificity, linearity, accuracy, precision, limit of detection (LOD), and limit of quantitation (LOQ). The detector response for glucosamine HCI was linear over the concentration range of 0.1-20 microg/mL with a correlation coefficient of 0.9980. The accuracy was between 99.4 and 100.8%. The LOD and the LOQ were 0.009 and 0.027 microg/mL, respectively. The method was applied to determination of glucosamine in solid dosage forms.     

Validated HPLC determination of the two fixed dose combinations (chlordiazepoxide hydrochloride and mebeverine hydrochloride; carvedilol and hydrochlorothiazide) in their tablets

Simple, rapid, and selective RP-HPLC methods with UV detection were developed for simultaneous determination of chlordiazepoxide hydrochloride and mebeverine hydrochloride (Mixture I) and carvedilol and hydrochlorothiazide (Mixture II). The chromatographic separation in both mixtures was achieved by using an RP-C8 (octylsilyl) analytical column. For Mixture I, a mobile phase composed of acetonitrile-0.05 M disodium hydrogen phosphate-triethylamine (50 + 50 + 0.2, v/v/v), pH 2.5, was used; the detector wavelength was 247 nm. For Mixture II, the mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile-0.05 M disodium hydrogen phosphate (50 + 50, v/v), pH 4.0, and the detector was set at 220 nm. Quantification of the analytes was based on measuring their peak areas. Both mixtures were resolved in less than 6 min. The reliability and analytical performance of the proposed HPLC procedures were statistically validated with respect to linearity, range, precision, accuracy, selectivity, robustness, LOD, and LOQ. The linear dynamic ranges were 2.5-150 and 2.5-500 microg/mL for chlordiazepoxide HCI and mebeverine HCI, respectively, and 0.25-200 and 0.25-150 microg/mL for carvedilol and hydrochlorothiazide, respectively. The validated HPLC methods were successfully applied to the analysis of their commercial tablet dosage forms, for which no interfering peaks were encountered from common pharmaceutical adjuvants.     

Simple, sensitive, selective and validated spectrophotometric methods for the estimation of a biomarker trigonelline from polyherbal gels

Simple, accurate, reproducible, selective, sensitive and cost effective UV-spectrophotometric methods were developed and validated for the estimation of trigonelline in bulk and pharmaceutical formulations. Trigonelline was estimated at 265 nm in deionised water and at 264 nm in phosphate buffer (pH 4.5). Beer's law was obeyed in the concentration ranges of 1-20microg mL(-1) (r2=0.9999) in deionised water and 1-24 microg mL(-1) (r2=0.9999) in the phosphate buffer medium. The apparent molar absorptivity and Sandell's sensitivity coefficient were found to be 4.04 x 10(3)L mol(-1)cm(-1) and 0.0422 microg cm(-2)/0.001A in deionised water; and 3.05 x 10(3)L mol(-1)cm(-1) and 0.0567 microg cm(-2)/0.001A in phosphate buffer media, respectively. These methods were tested and validated for various parameters according to ICH guidelines. The detection and quantitation limits were found to be 0.12 and 0.37 microg mL(-1) in deionised water and 0.13 and 0.40 microg mL(-1) in phosphate buffer medium, respectively. The proposed methods were successfully applied for the determination of trigonelline in pharmaceutical formulations (vaginal tablets and bioadhesive vaginal gels). The results demonstrated that the procedure is accurate, precise, specific and reproducible (percent relative standard deviation <2%), while being simple and less time consuming and hence can be suitably applied for the estimation of trigonelline in different dosage forms and dissolution studies.     

High-performance liquid chromatography method development and validation for simultaneous determination of five model compounds, antipyrine, metoprolol, ketoprofen, furosemide and phenol red, as a tool for the standardization of rat in situ intestinal permeability studies using timed wavelength detection

A simple, precise, accurate and rugged reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method has been developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of five permeability model compounds, viz. antipyrine, metoprolol, ketoprofen, furosemide and phenol red. The method was intended to standardize rat in situ single-pass intestinal perfusion studies to assess the intestinal permeability of drugs in the market as well as new chemical entities. Optimum resolution was achieved by gradient elution on a Symmetry Shield C-18 analytical column with the mobile phase consisting of a mixture of aqueous potassium dihydrogen orthophosphate (pH 5.5; 0.01 m) and methanol at a flow rate of 1.5 mL/min. The retention times of antipyrine, metoprolol, ketoprofen, phenol red and furosemide were about 9, 12, 13, 16 and 17 min, respectively. Data acquisition was carried out using a photo diode array detector in the wavelength range 210-600 nm. Extraction of chromatograms was carried out by timed wavelength. Data obtained in all studies indicated that the method was suitable for the intended purpose. The validated method was found to be linear and precise in the working range. Suitability of storage under various conditions and freeze/thaw impact at cold temperature were established to ensure complete sample recovery without any stability issues. Recovery very close to the spiked amounts indicated that the method was highly accurate and suitable for use on routine basis.     

Determination of nebivolol hydrochloride and hydrochlorothiazide in tablets by first-order derivative spectrophotometry and liquid chromatography

Two simple and accurate methods for analysis of nebivolol hydrochloride (NEB) and hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) in their combined dosage forms were developed using first-order derivative spectrophotometry and reversed-phase liquid chromatography (LC). NEB and HCTZ in their combined dosage forms (tablets) were quantified using first-derivative responses at 294.6 and 334.6 nm in the spectra of their solutions in methanol. The calibration curves were linear in the concentration range of 8-40 microg/mL for NEB and 10-60 microg/mL for HCTZ. LC analysis was performed on a Phenomenex Gemini C18 column (250 x 4.6 mm id, 5 microm particle size) in the isocratic mode with 0.05 M potassium dihydrogen phosphate-acetonitrile-methanol (30 + 20 + 50, v/v/v; pH 4) mobile phase at a flow rate of 1 mL/min. Detection was made at 220 nm. Both of the drugs and the internal standard (ezetimibe) were well resolved with retention times of 5.1 min for NEB, 2.9 min for HCTZ, and 8.2 min for ezetimibe. The calibration curves were linear in the concentration range of 1-14 microg/mL for NEB and 0.3-28 microg/mL for HCTZ. Both methods were validated and found to be accurate, precise, and specific, and results were compared statistically. Developed methods were successfully applied for the estimation of NEB and HCTZ in their combined dosage forms.     

Development and validation of a micellar high-performance liquid chromatographic method for determination of risedronate in raw material and in a pharmaceutical formulation: application to stability studies

A micellar HPLC method was developed for analysis of the antiosteoporosis drug risedronate. The analysis was carried out using a 250 x 4.6 mm id, 5 microm particle size C18 Waters Symmetry column. The mobile phase consisted of 0.02 M sodium dodecyl sulfate + 0.3% triethylamine + 10% n-propanol, prepared in 0.02 M orthophosphoric acid. The pH of the mobile phase was adjusted to pH 6.0, and it was pumped at a flow rate of 0.7 mL/min with UV detection at 262 nm. The method showed good linearity in the range of 2-80 microg/mL, with an LOD of 0.40 microg/mL (1.31 x 10(-6) M) and an LOQ of 1.21 microg/mL. The suggested method was successfully applied for the analysis of risedronate in raw material and a tablet formulation, with average recoveries of 99.91 +/- 1.30 and 101.52 +/- 0.30%, respectively. The stability-indicating capability of the proposed method was proved using forced degradation. By changing the pH of the mobile phase to 4.0, the oxidative degradation product could be separated from risedronate.     

Simultaneous determination of atorvastatin calcium, ezetimibe, and fenofibrate in a tablet formulation by HPLC

An accurate, simple, reproducible, and sensitive HPLC method was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of atorvastatin calcium, ezetimibe, and fenofibrate in a tablet formulation. The analyses were performed on an RP C18 column, 150 x 4.60 mm id, 5 pm particle size. The mobile phase methanol-acetonitrile-water (76 + 13 + 11, v/v/v), was pumped at a constant flow rate of 1 mL/min. UV detection was performed at 253 nm. Retention times of atorvastatin calcium, ezetimibe, and fenofibrate were found to be 2.25, 3.68, and 6.41 min, respectively. The method was validated in terms of linearity, precision, accuracy, LOD, LOQ, and robustness. The response was linear in the range 2-10 microg/mL (r2 = 0.998) for atorvastatin calcium, 2-10 microg/mL (r2 = 0.998) for ezetimibe, and 40-120 microg/mL (r2 = 0.998) for fenofibrate. The developed method can be used for routine quality analysis of the drugs in the tablet formulation.     

Liquid chromatographic method for the simultaneous determination of eprosartan and hydrochlorothiazide in tablets and human plasma

A new, specific, and sensitive RP-HPLC method was developed for the simultaneous determination of eprosartan (EPR) and hydrochlorothiazide (HCT). Good chromatographic separation was achieved using a 250 x 4.6 mm id, 5 microm particle size Symmetry C18 column. The mobile phase acetonitrile-0.1 M phosphate buffer (35+65, v/v), pH 4.5, was pumped at a flow rate of 1 mL/min, with UV detection at 275 nm. The method showed good linearity in the ranges of 0.5-50 and 0.1-10 microg/mL, with LOD of 0.06 and 0.02 microg/mL and LOQ of 0.20 and 0.08 microg/mL for EPR and HCT, respectively. The proposed method was successfully applied for the analysis of the studied drugs in their synthetic mixture and co-formulated tablets. The method was further extended to the in vitro and in vivo determination of the two drugs in spiked and real human plasma. Interference likely to be encountered from the co-administered drugs was studied.     

HPLC determination and pharmacokinetic study of tenatoprazole in dog plasma after oral administration of enteric-coated capsule

A simple, sensitive and selective high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method with UV detection (306 nm) was developed and validated for determination of tenatoprazole, a novel proton-pump inhibitor, in dog plasma. Tenatoprazole and internal standard (pantoprazole) were extracted into diethyl ether and separated using an isocratic mobile phase of 10 mm phosphate buffer (pH4.7)-acetonitrile (70:30, v/v) on a Diamonsil C(18) column (150 x 4.6 mm, 5 microm). The retention times for tenatoprazole and internal standard were 7.1 and 12.3 min, respectively. No endogenous interferences were observed. This HPLC method was fully validated. The lower limit of quantitation was 20 ng/mL, with a relative standard deviation of less than 20%. A linear range of 0.02-5.0 microg/mL was established. The interday and intraday precisions were within RSD 13.4-10.1 and 4.6-1.4%, respectively. This method developed can be easily applied to the pharmacokinetic study of tenatoprazole in dog plasma after oral administration of an enteric-coated capsule. The plasma concentration of tenatoprazole from six dogs showed a mean C(max) of 2.63 microg/mL at T(max) of 1.89 h. The bioavailability of tenatoprazole was improved by administration of enteric-coated capsule.     

Development and validation of an HPLC method to quantify camptothecin in polymeric nanocapsule suspensions

A simple, rapid, and sensitive reversed-phase column high-performance liquid chromatographic method was developed and validated to quantify camptothecin (CPT) in polymeric nanocapsule suspensions. The chromatographic separation was performed on a Supelcosil LC-18 column (15 cm x 4.6 mm id, 5 microm) using a mobile phase consisting of methanol-10 mM KH2PO4 (60 + 40, v/v; pH 2.8) at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min and ultraviolet detection at 254 nm. The calibration graph was linear from 0.5 to 3.0 microg/mL with a correlation coefficient of 0.9979, and the limit of quantitation was 0.35 microg/mL. The assay recovery ranged from 97.3 to 105.0%. The intraday and interday relative standard deviation values were < 5.0%. The validation results confirmed that the developed method is specific, linear, accurate, and precise for its intended use. The current method was successfully applied to the evaluation of CPT entrapment efficiency and drug content in polymeric nanocapsule suspensions during the early stage of formulation development.     

Development and validation of a liquid chromatographic/electrospray ionization mass spectrometric method for the determination of benazepril, benazeprilat and hydrochlorothiazide in human plasma

A new method was developed and fully validated for the quantitation of benazepril, benazeprilat and hydrochlorothiazide in human plasma. Sample pretreatment was achieved by solid-phase extraction (SPE) using Oasis HLB cartridges. The extracts were analysed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled to a single-quadrupole mass spectrometer (MS) with an electrospray ionization interface. The MS system was operated in selected ion monitoring (SIM) modes. HPLC was performed isocratically on a reversed-phase porous graphitized carbon (PGC) analytical column (2.1 x 125.0 mm i.d., particle size 5 microm). The mobile phase consisted of 55% acetonitrile in water containing 0.3% v/v formic acid and pumped at a flow rate of 0.15 ml min(-1). Chlorthalidone was used as the internal standard (IS) for quantitation. The assay was linear over a concentration range of 5.0-500 ng ml(-1) for all the compounds analysed, with a limit of quantitation of 5 ng ml(-1) for all the compounds. Quality control (QC) samples (5, 10, 100 and 500 ng ml(-1)) in five replicates from three different runs of analyses demonstrated intra-assay precision (coefficient of variation (CV) < or =14.6%), inter-assay precision (CV < or = 5.6%) and overall accuracy (relative error less than -8.0%). The method can be used to quantify benazepril, benazeprilat and hydrochlorothiazide in human plasma, covering a variety of pharmacokinetic or bioequivalence studies.     

Comparison between capillary electrophoresis and liquid chromatography for the determination of diclofenac sodium in a pharmaceutical tablet

Two novel analytical methodologies using capillary electrophoresis (CE) and liquid chromatography (LC) were developed and compared for the determination of diclofenac sodium in commercial and simulated tablet formulations. The CE analysis was performed in a bare fused-silica capillary with 75 microm id and total length of 50 cm (28 cm to the detector) with a buffer solution of 20 mM sodium tetraborate, pH 9.23. The applied voltage was 20 kV, and acetaminophen was used as the internal standard (IS). The LC analysis was performed with a LiChrospher 100 RP-18 (5 microm) column and a mobile phase of methanol-diluted glacial acetic acid (0.3 parts in 2500; 75 + 25) at a flow rate of 0.9 mL/min with propylparaben as the IS. In both analyses, detection was by ultraviolet absorption at 276 nm. Under optimized conditions, the CE migration times for the diclofenac sodium standard and acetaminophen (IS) were 2.07 and 1.59 min, respectively, and the LC retention times for the diclofenac sodium standard and propylparaben (IS) were 3.98 and 2.26 min, respectively. The resolution and efficiency for CE were 14.2 and 1.6 x 10(5) plates/m, respectively, and for LC, 5.0 and 8.6 x 10(3) plates/m, respectively. Calibration curves of peak area versus concentration gave correlation coefficients of 0.9992 for CE and 0.9994 for LC. The limits of detection and quantitation were 8.40 and 25.46 microg/mL, respectively, for CE and 4.60 and 13.93 microg/mL, respectively, for LC. Coefficients of variation were 1.68 and 0.37% for CE and LC, respectively. Average recoveries obtained with CE and LC were 103.12+/-0.90 and 99.59+/-0.21%, respectively. Although both methodologies were shown to be suitable for the determination of diclofenac sodium in tablets, performing in a similar manner with regard to several aspects (linearity, recovery, and specificity), CE provided faster analysis and better column efficiency, whereas LC provided superior repeatability and sensitivity.     

Enhanced separation of purine and pyrimidine bases using carboxylic multiwalled carbon nanotubes as additive in capillary zone electrophoresis

This paper describes the enhanced separation of adenine (A), hypoxanthine (HX), 8-azaadenine (8-AA), thymine (T), cytosine (C), uracil (U) and guanine (G) by CZE dispersing carboxylic multiwalled carbon nanotubes (c-MWNTs) into the running buffer. The effect of important factors such as c-MWNT nanoparticle concentration, the acidity and concentration of running buffer, and separation voltage were investigated to acquire the optimum conditions. The seven purine and pyrimidine bases could be well separated within 16 min in a 35 cm effective length fused-silica capillary at a separation voltage of +8.0 kV in a 23 mM tetraborate buffer (pH 9.2) containing 8.0 x 10(-5) g/mL c-MWNTs. Under the optimal conditions, the linear ranges were of 2-250 microg/mL for A (R2 = 0.995), 3-200 microg/mL for U (R2 = 0.990) and G (R2 = 0.992), 3-250 microg/mL for T (R2 = 0.998), 2-200 microg/mL for C (R2 = 0.985) and 4-200 microg/mL for HX (R2 = 0.988) and 8-AA (R2 = 0.990). The detection limits were 0.9 microg/mL for A (S/N = 3), 2.4 microg/mL for U, 2.0 microg/mL for T, 1.5 microg/mL for C, 2.5 microg/mL for G and 3.0 microg/mL for HX and 8-AA. The proposed method was successfully applied for determining five purine and pyrimidine bases in yeast RNA.     

Column and thin-layer chromatographic methods for the simultaneous determination of acediasulfone in the presence of cinchocaine, and cefuroxime in the presence of its hydrolytic degradation products

Column liquid chromatography (LC) and thin-layer chromatography (TLC)-densitometry methods are described for simultaneous determination of acediasulfone (Ace) and cinchocaine (Cinco). In the LC method, the separation and quantitation of the 2 drugs was achieved on a Zorbax C8 column (5 microm, 150 x 4.6 mm id) using a mobile phase composed of methanol-phosphate buffer, pH 2.5 (66 + 34, v/v), at a flow rate of 1 mL/min and ultraviolet detection at 300 and 327 nm for Ace and Cinco, respectively. The method showed linearity over concentration ranges of 20-200 and 45-685 microg/mL, respectively. In the TLC-densitometry method, a mobile phase composed of methanol-tetrahydrofuran-acetic acid (45 + 5 + 0.5, v/v/v) was used for the separation of the 2 drugs. The linearity range was 0.5-4 and 2-9 microg/spot, respectively. In addition, stability indicating TLC-densitometry method has been developed for determination of cefuroxime sodium in the presence of 5-70% of its known hydrolytic degradation products. The mobile phase butanol-methanol-tetrahydrofuran-concentrated ammonium hydroxide (50 + 50 + 50' + 5, v/v/v/v) was used. The concentration range was 2-10 microg/spot. The optimized methods proved to be specific and accurate for the analysis of the cited drugs in laboratory-prepared mixtures and dosage forms. The obtained results agreed statistically with those obtained by the reference methods.     

High-performance liquid chromatographic determination of the plasma concentration of K-27, a novel oxime-type cholinesterase reactivator

A simple and reliable HPLC method for the determination of the plasma level of K-27, an oxime type antidote of use in organophosphorus poisoning is presented. Separation was carried out by HPLC using an octyl silica stationary phase and a mobile phase consisting of 93% phosphate buffer (pH 2.6) containing octane sulfate sodium salt, and 7% methanol. Quantitative absorbance was monitored at 286 nm. The calibration curve was linear through the range of 1.25-200 microg/mL, that is well beyond the detected plasma level range of K-27. Limit of quantitation was 5 microg/mL. Intra-day and inter-day precisions of the HPLC determinations gave standard deviations as 0.77 and 2.67%, respectively. Following intramuscular administration of 50 micromol (22.31 mg) K-27 in rats, the maximum of K-27 concentration in plasma was reached at about 15 min giving 186 microg/mL and the t(1/2) was 85 min. K-27 displays initial (from 15 trough 120 min) zero order elimination kinetics. Similar results have been found after intraperitoneal administration.     

Spectrophotometric determination of acyclovir and ribavirin in their dosage forms

Two simple, accurate, and reliable spectrophotometric methods have been developed for the determination of 2 antiviral drugs, acyclovir (ACV) and ribavirin (RBV), in their pharmaceutical formulations. These methods are based on oxidation of the 2 drugs with either cerium (IV) ammonium sulfate (Method A) or potassium persulfate (Method B). The products of oxidation in both methods are coupled with 3-methylbenzothiazolin 2-one hydrazone, producing a deep blue color with a maximum absorption wavelength at 630 nm. In Method A, the absorbance-concentration plots were linear over the ranges of 5-50 and 10-60 microg/mL with detection limits of 0.18 microg/mL (8 x 10(-7) M) and 0.63 microg/mL (2.58 x 10(-6) M) for ACV and RBV, respectively. In Method B, the ranges were 5-45 and 20-50 microg/mL with detection limits of 0.11 microg/mL (4.88 x 10(-7) M) and 1.40 microg/mL (5.73 x 10(-6) M) for the 2 drugs, respectively. The molar absorptivities were 4.1 x 10(3) and 3.65 x 10(3) L/mol/cm in Method A and 5.03 x 10(3) and 3.97 x 10(3) L/mol/cm in Method B for the 2 drugs, respectively. The proposed methods were applied successfully for the determination of the 2 drugs in their pharmaceutical formulations. The percentage recoveries +/- standard deviation were 99.57 +/- 0.86 and 100.82 +/- 0.46 for ACV; 99.41 +/- 1.08 and 100.35 +/- 1.03 for RBV. The results obtained were compared statistically with those given by official methods and showed no significant differences regarding accuracy and precision.     

Simultaneous determination of 16 estrogens,dehydroepiandrosterone and their glucuronide and sulfate conjugates in serum using sodium cholate micelle capillary electrophoresis

The simultaneous determination of 16 estrogens, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and their glucuronide and sulfate conjugates by micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) with sodium cholate micelle is reported. Sodium cholate, sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) and alpha-, beta-, gamma-cyclodextrins were studied as micelle reagents in the pH range of 7.0-10.0. Estrogens, DHEA and their glucuronide and sulfate conjugates were separated using a 50 cm x 50 microm capillary with 10 mM borate-phosphate buffer (pH 8.0) containing 50 mM sodium cholate as carrier. The method could simultaneously determine 1.0-1000 microg/mL of steroids and metabolites in 100 microL of serum by photometric detection at 214 nm within 14 min and 80 ng/mL steroids could be determined by using 2.0 mL of serum. The relative standards deviations were 6.7-7.7% at 10 microg/mL in serum. The recoveries were 89.1-92.0% with 10 microg/mL serum samples.     

HPLC determination of andrographolide in rat whole blood: study on the pharmacokinetics of andrographolide incorporated in liposomes and tablets

A sensitive and simple high-performance liquid chromatographic method with UV detection was developed and validated for the determination of andrographolide in rat whole blood. Carbamazepine was employed as internal standard and the blood sample was extracted with chloroform. Chromatographic separations were achieved on a Chromasil ODS column (250 x 4.6 mm, 5 microm). The mobile phase was consisted of methanol-water (52:48, v/v) and delivered at 0.8 mL/min. The detection wavelength was set at 225 nm. The calibration curve had a good linearity in the range 0.053-530 microg/mL in rat whole blood with its correlation coefficient being 0.996. The extraction recovery of andrographolide was ranged from 65.7 to 72.6%. The intra-day and inter-days repeatabilities were below 4.2% in terms of the percentage of relative standard deviation (RSD). The method was used to provide data on the pharmacokinetics of the drug in rats. The data obtained was processed using the 3P87 pharmacokinetic program. The results showed that the disposition of andrographolide after intravenous administration of liposomal andrographolide conformed to a two-compartment open model with alpha = 4.75 x 10(-2) +/- 2.41 x 10(-3) min(-1), beta = 3.16 x 10(-3) +/- 1.58 x 10(-4) min(-1), V(c) = 174.67 +/- 13.97 mL, k(21) = 1.60 x 10(-2) +/- 8.12 x 10(-4) min(-1), k(10) = 9.38 x 10(-3) +/- 5.62 x 10(-4) min(-1), k(12) = 2.53 x 10(-2) +/- 1.27 x 10(-3) min(-1) and AUC(0-infinity) = 1525.47 +/- 92.35 microg min/mL. For the intragastric administration of andrographolide tablets, the disposition of andrographolide followed a one-compartment open model with k(e) = 6.78 x 10(-3) +/- 3.53 x 10(-4) min(-1), k(a) = 3.69 x 10(-2) +/- 4.68 x 10(-3) min(-1), T(max) = 59.69 +/- 3.61 min, C(max) = 1.62 +/- 0.11 microg/mL, V(c) = 1056.90 +/- 83.42 mL, AUC(0-infinity) = 348.75 +/- 24.41 microg min/mL.