Pre-Validation and Performance Prediction Using Pressure Monitoring to Evaluate HPLC Method Development Changes

HPLC methods for pharmaceutical analysis evolve from method development to commercial product testing. The majority of development and validation takes place in an R&D setting, followed by transfer to commercial sites that execute test methods on a routine basis. There is a growing need to increase confidence and probability that developed methods will be successful both during validation and long-term use with products, particularly when introducing new or unfamiliar technologies. An HPLC method pre-validation and performance prediction plan is presented using model pharmaceutical ingredients in prototype liquid formulations. The pre-validation includes limited linearity, repeatability in sample matrix, precision, carry-over, and selectivity. The performance prediction involves injecting large numbers of worst-case samples and monitoring five critical parameters: retention time, tailing factor, resolution, efficiency, and system pressure. Parameter results are assessed with respect to precision and/or system performance. In a proof of principle model, the performance prediction data demonstrate that system suitability parameters remain constant during injections of prepared samples; however, the system pressure increases over time. These underlying data indicate a potential trend prior to method validation. As a result, sample preparation and HPLC condition modifications are evaluated using pressure plots as a key performance metric.

     

The electronic structure and optical activity of conjugated dienes: 1,3-Butadiene and α- and β-phellandrene

The optical activity of conjugated dienes is investigated by means of ab initio SCF–CI calculations. The computed electronic spectrum of trans-1,3-butadiene is shown to be in good agreement with the results of more rigorous calculations of the valence transitions and in satisfactory agreement with experiment. The optical rotatory strengths of the lower electronic transitions of twisted 1,3-butadiene as a function of dihedral angle are presented and simulated CD spectra are produced. The N → V₁ (π₂ → π₃*) transition is predicted to have a positive rotational strength for all dihedral angles that correspond to a right-handed twist of the chromophore, in accord with the empirically deduced “diene rule” although for a twist angle of 60°, the rotatory strength is calculated to be almost zero. The role of the orientation of allylic bonds is investigated in the model system 1-butene in which the rotational strength of the π → π* transition as a function of rotation about the 2,3 bond is determined. The effect of allylic bond disposition in dienes on the optical activity of the long-wavelength π₂ → π₃* transition is simulated by use of the exciton coupling model of Harada and Nakanishi in which two 1-butene molecules with suitable geometries are coupled via interactions of the electric dipole transition moments of their π → π* transitions. The model systems 1,3-butadiene and 1-butene are used to rationalize the apparently anomalous optical activity of (?)-α-phellandrene and (?)-β-phellandrene, both of which should have a diene chromophore with a right-handed twist in their most stable conformers and so should be dextrorotatory. The experimental CD spectrum of α-phellandrene is determined at several temperatures down to ?180°C. The observed variation of the apparent rotational strength of the N → V₁ transition is in good agreement with that predicted by use of the exciton coupling model.     

Highly dispersed clay-polyolefin nanocomposites free of compatibilizers, via the in situ polymerization of alpha-olefins by clay-supported catalysts

In situ polymerization by certain transition metal catalysts supported on and activated by acid-treated montmorillonite produces well-dispersed clay-polyolefin nanocomposites, without requiring either organic surfactants to be present in the clay phase or modification of the polyolefin structure.     

Dipolar interactions and origin of spin ice in ising pyrochlore magnets

Recent experiments suggest that the Ising pyrochlore magnets Ho2Ti2O7 and Dy2Ti2O7 display qualitative properties of the nearest-neighbor "spin ice" model. We discuss the dipolar energy scale present in both these materials and discuss how spin-ice behavior can occur despite the presence of long-range dipolar interactions. We present results of numerical simulations and a mean field analysis of Ising pyrochlore systems. Based on our quantitative theory, we suggest that the spin-ice behavior in these systems is due to long-range dipolar interactions, and that the nearest-neighbor exchange in Dy2Ti2O7 is antiferromagnetic.