Applications of hyphenated LC-MS techniques in pharmaceutical analysis

In pharmaceutical analysis, ie the analytical development and quality control of drug substances and dosage forms, mass spectrometry (MS) combined with chromatographic separation is perhaps the most powerful technique for the monitoring, characterization and identification of impurities. The addition of further dimensions to chromatographic separations by hyphenated techniques offers unique possibilities of efficiently supporting pharmaceutical development and ensuring the quality and safety of pharmaceuticals. However, the ionization process in MS involves some characteristics which have to be recognized and taken into account for an appropriate application as well as the evaluation of the results. Chromatographic method development and validation can be supported very effectively by MS detection, eg in the investigation of coelution and peak purity. Chiral amino acid analysis is largely facilitated by the mass-specific detection of the derivatized amino acid enantiomers, which ignores all other interfering substance peaks. Examples are presented for the use of LC-MS-MS fragmentation and high-resolution MS in the structural elucidation of degradation products and impurities. LC-MS is systematically applied to monitor impurity profiles during pharmaceutical development and scaling up and supports the safety evaluation of batches used in clinical studies.     

Purity determination by differential scanning calorimetry

A review of the literature on the DSC method for purity determination is presented, with a discussion of the most important aspects, i.e. theory, sample handling, calibration of the instrument, evaluation of melting curves, and the conditions and accuracy of the measurement of eutectic impurities.     

Chemometric quality control of chromatographic purity

It is common practice in chromatographic purity analysis of pharmaceutical manufacturing processes to assess the quality of peak integration combined by visual investigation of the chromatogram. This traditional method of visual chromatographic comparison is simple, but is very subjective, laborious and seldom very quantitative. For high-purity drugs it would be particularly difficult to detect the occurrence of an unknown impurity co-eluting with the target compound, which is present in excess compared to any impurity. We hypothesize that this can be achieved through Multivariate Statistical Process Control (MSPC) based on principal component analysis (PCA) modeling. In order to obtain the lowest detection limit, different chromatographic data preprocessing methods such as time alignment, baseline correction and scaling are applied. Historical high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) chromatograms from a biopharmaceutical in-process analysis are used to build a normal operation condition (NOC) PCA model. Chromatograms added simulated 0.1% impurities with varied resolutions are exposed to the NOC model and monitored with MSPC charts. This study demonstrates that MSPC based on PCA applied on chromatographic purity analysis is a powerful tool for monitoring subtle changes in the chromatographic pattern, providing clear diagnostics of subtly deviating chromatograms. The procedure described in this study can be implemented and operated as the HPLC analysis runs according to the process analytical technology (PAT) concept aiming for real-time release.     

A new program for DSC purity analysis

DSC purity determinations have become very popular today [3]. The latest edition of the Mettler software package for thermal analysis, TA72.S GraphWare, now comprises a powerful purity evaluation program. It is based on the simultaneous calculation of the mole ratio of the sum of the eutectic impurities, the melting point of the pure component, the melting point of the substance present and the linearization term. The portion of the melting curve investigated is selected appropriately.Experience has shown, that the applied heating rate is a very important parameter which influences the duration of the measurement and also the possible exposure to elevated temperature where decomposition can become a problem and last but not least the accuracy of the calculated impurity value.

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Zusammenfassung Die DSC-Reinheitsbestimmung ist heute eine weit verbreitete Methode, die mit einer einzigen Messung und unter Verwendung geeigneter Auswerteprogramme eine Bestimmung der absoluten eutektischen Reinheit einer Probe zulÄsst. Gleichzeitig können weitere thermodynamische Daten bestimmt werden, wie Schmelzpunkt der Probensubstanz und der reinen Hauptkomponente und die Schmelzenthalpie der Probe.Durch experimentelle Befunde konnte gezeigt werden, dass die Wahl der Aufheizrate kritisch ist in bezug auf die Genauigkeit und die Signifikanz der ermittelten Daten.

     

Thermal analysis in the quality control and standardization of some drugs

DSC was used together with other methods of pharmaceutical analysis (spectrophotometry, thin-layer chromatography) to estimate the quality and standardization of two drugs—lipoic acid (polymerization upon melting, purity) and progesterone (melting temperature, polymorphism).     

Dynamic DSC purity analysis studies of two component doped systems

Up to the present time, the accuracy and precision of dynamic DSC purity analysis measurements have been tested by using simple binary systems as models. For the most part, pure organic substances have served as host and eutectic-forming low level dopant. As a first step in considering whether the DSC method can be applied to multicomponent impure substances, the simple ternary model system, phenacetin doped with benzamide and p-aminobenzoic acid, has been studied. Separately, the two dopants form well defined eutectics with the host melting at 370 K (benzamide dopant) and 385 K (p-aminobenzoic acid dopant). When the two dopants are combined, a third eutectic melting at 353 K is produced. Evidence is presented confirming the fact that in the range 100-98.5 mole % purity, the total DSC measured impurity is the sum of the two individual dopant levels, and is independent of their relative proportions.     

Thermodynamic property values of selected polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons measured by differential scanning calorimetry

In this study, the use of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) is demonstrated as a powerful technique that can provide accurate thermodynamic property values of environmental contaminants such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). In total, 47 high purity PAH certified reference materials were selected and analysed by DSC. Their onset melting temperature, enthalpy of fusion and eutectic purity were calculated from the obtained melting endotherms. In addition, the entropy of fusion, which was calculated from the onset melting temperature and enthalpy of fusion, is presented. All measurements were evaluated in a metrologically rigorous manner, including measurement uncertainties.     

Broad range purity analysis by melting point depression using a singular feature common to all DSC purity scans

DSC purity assay by melting point between has had a limited range of less than several percent impurities. Step-mode heating techniques have increased the range to 6–8%. However, empirical corrections were used to linearize the purity slope of the van't Hoff plot, temperatures vs. reciprocal of fraction melted (1/F).A unique feature common to all dynamic purity scans has been discovered which matches a point on the non-linear van't Hoff plot to the heating rate. This point, or reciprocal of the melt fraction (1/F), occurs where the melting rate has attained maximum acceleration. The melting rate at this point is used as a tangential straight line projection from the curve to become a function of mole % impurity. The melting rate at maximum acceleration is independent of reference material, heating rate, sample size, thermal conductivity, or specific heat.Phenacetin, spiked with 50 mole % benzamide, has been measured to ±2 mole % at heating rate of 5 and 10°C min^?1; the restriction on upper detection limits is adequate resolution between preliminary eutectic events and the final melt. Impurities in indium, with a reported purity of 99.9999%, have been measured at 4 × 10^?5 mole % by this technique.     

Automation and validation of HPLC-systems

Summary The automation of chromatographic systems is of increasing interest to industry and research laboratories in routine applications. Besides potentially saving time or making better use of available instrumentation, automation also improves the quality of results by producing more precise and more reproducible HPLC data. The need for the validation of methods and qualification of instruments is increasingly recognised in order to ensure compliance with legal requirements (e.g. in the pharmaceutical industry) and to ensure the reliability of analytical results. Possibilities and requirements for automated HPLC systems are elaborated. Emphasis is placed on defining the goals of validation and on discussing different aspects of the validation of LC methods, system suitability tests, ruggedness of methods and the transfer of LC methods from laboratory to laboratory. Adequate strategies of HPLC method development provide very useful information on the validation and ruggedness of LC methods.     

Differential scanning calorimetry to measure the purity of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

The application of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) for purity determination is well documented in literature and is used amongst others in the analysis of pure organic crystalline compounds. The aim of this work is to examine whether the DSC method for purity determination consistently produces values for the purity of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) which are sufficiently accurate as required for the certification of reference materials. For this purpose, 34 different existing PAH certified reference materials were tested. The DSC results are shown to be consistent with the results obtained by other methods assessing the organic impurities content in PAHs, like gas chromatography (GC), high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and mass spectrometry. Significant differences between the measured values and the certified purity values were observed only in a limited number of cases.     

Assay determination by mass spectrometry for oligonucleotide therapeutics

Phosphorothioate oligonucleotide drugs typically contain product‐related impurities that are difficult to resolve chromatographically from the parent oligonucleotide due to the size of these compounds and the large number of stereoisomers that comprise the parent. The presence of co‐eluting impurities hinders the process of determining assay based on chromatographic separation alone. A mass spectrometry‐based purity assessment of the main chromatography peak can be used to quantify co‐eluting impurities and enable the accurate determination of assay, but a more direct measure of assay was desired due to the complexity of measuring all co‐eluting impurities by mass spectrometry. Therefore, we developed an assay method that utilizes the specificity of mass spectrometry to measure the amount of active pharmaceutical ingredient in a sample, which eliminates the need for chromatographic separation of impurities from the product. This procedure uses a single quadrupole mass spectrometer and incorporates an internal standard that is co‐sprayed with the analyte to compensate for the drift commonly associated with mass spectrometry‐based quantitation. Using the mass spectrometry response ratio for sample to internal standard enables the method to achieve excellent linearity (R² = 0.998), repeatability (relative standard deviation = 0.5%), intermediate precision (0.6%), and accuracy, with measured assay values consistently within 2.0% of expected. The results indicate the method possesses the accuracy and precision required for measuring assay in clinical and commercial stage pharmaceutical products. Since the method is based on the specificity of the mass spectrometer, and does not rely on chromatographic separation of impurities, the procedure should be applicable to a wide variety of oligonucleotide therapeutics regardless of sequence or chemical modifications.     

Purity assessment of recombinant human granulocyte colony‐stimulating factor in finished drug product by capillary zone electrophoresis

Current methods for determination of impurities with different charge‐to‐volume ratio are limited especially in terms of sensitivity and precision. The main goal of this research was to establish a quantitative method for determination of impurities with charges differing from that of recombinant human granulocyte colony‐stimulating factor (rhG‐CSF, filgrastim) with superior precision and sensitivity compared to existing methods. A CZE method has been developed, optimized, and validated for a purity assessment of filgrastim in liquid pharmaceutical formulations. Optimal separation of filgrastim from the related impurities with different charges was achieved on a 50 μm id fused‐silica capillary of a total length of 80.5 cm. A BGE that contains 100 mM phosphoric acid adjusted to pH 7.0 with triethanolamine was used. The applied voltage was 20 kV while the temperature was maintained at 25°C. UV detection was set to 200 nm. Method was validated in terms of selectivity/specificity, linearity, precision, LOD, LOQ, stability, and robustness. Linearity was observed in the concentration range of 6–600 μg/mL and the LOQ was determined to be 0.3% relative to the concentration of filgrastim of 0.6 mg/mL. Other validation parameters were also found to be acceptable; thus the method was successfully applied for a quantitative purity assessment of filgrastim in a finished drug product.     

Separation and characterization of complex crude mixtures produced in the synthesis of therapeutic peptide hormones by liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray mass spectrometry (LC-ES-MS)

Native peptides and peptidomimetics can be synthesized in a routine way by rapid and efficient procedures. However, the final products always result in complex mixtures, in which the target peptide is contaminated with undesired side products and other impurities. Thus, it is imperative to develop analytical methods for the evaluation of the target peptide’s purity in order to obtain an effective, safe and legal pharmaceutical product. LC-ES-MS is used here in order to separate and characterize the side-products associated with several synthetic hormones with therapeutic interest: carbetocin, eledoisin, leuprolide, goserelin and triptorelin. General directions for LC-ES-MS analysis of the synthetic peptide mixtures are established. Mass information obtained offers a significant advantage for the purity assessment of therapeutic hormones and gives a key tool to enhance their process of synthesis.     

The importance of impurity analysis in pharmaceutical products: an integrated approach

To purify a material and remove the excess impurities one should first recognize that whether they are actually present and what their nature is. In the past, this was not always done. But presently drug analysis and pharmaceutical impurities are the subjects of constant review in the public interest. The International Conference on Harmonisation (ICH) guidelines achieved a great deal in harmonizing the definitions of the impurities in new drug substances. It is necessary to perform all the investigations on appropriate reference standards of drug and impurities to get meaningful specifications. In order to meet the challenges to ensure high degree of purity of drug substances and drug products, a scheme is proposed for profiling drug impurity. Finally, analytical methods based on analytical instrumentation must be employed to quantitate drug substance and its impurities. Important aspects and suggestions related to drug analysis and pharmaceutical impurities are discussed.     

An apparatus for determining the purity of organic compounds

An apparatus is described for determining with an accuracy of 10 per cent the total amount of impurities in small (0.05 cm³) samples of organic compounds, containing more than 98 mole per cent of the main component. A simple method for calculating the degree of purity, applicable to Skau's method, is proposed. A correction for the heat of melting of eutectic mixtures formed by the main component with impurities is introduced.     

High-Performance Liquid Chromatographic Study of Topiramate and Its Impurities

A new patented route for the synthesis and analysis of Topiramate has been developed. In order to determine the impurities in the active pharmaceutical ingredient, three HPLC methods: an isocratic elution method with RI detection, a gradient elution method with diode-array detection, an ion-chromatographic method with inverse UV and/or RI detection and an HPLC-MS method were applied. Inverse RI proved to be a very powerful and sensitive technique. It is demonstrated that MS detection can replace both RI and UV detection, only one method being required for non ionic impurities. The methods were validated according to the ICH Q2A and Q2B guidelines. The full set of validation criteria laid out by the international guidelines were satisfied. With these new validated methods, the pharmaceutical analysis requirements were met; the methods can be successfully applied for product evaluation and stability testing.

     

Simulation of the thermal transfer during an eutectic melting of a binary solution

The main objective of this paper is to present a model for the heat transfer in the case of the melting of saline binary solution. This model is applied to calorimetry in order to determine the kinetics of the eutectic melting. The investigated cell containing the solution is a cylinder of a few mm³ in volume. By simulation, we could replicate the shape of the experimental thermogramms. The validation of the model permits determining some parameters which are inaccessible due to the small size of the cell, like the space-time evolution of the temperature inside the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) sample.     

Chromatographic selectivity study of 4-fluorophenylacetic acid positional isomers separation

Unique properties of the fluorine atom stimulate widespread use and development of new organofluorine compounds in agrochemistry, biotechnology and pharmacology applications. However, relatively few synthetic methods exhibit a high degree of fluorination selectivity, which ultimately results in the presence of structurally related fluorinated isomers in the synthetic product. This outcome is undesirable from a pharmaceutical perspective as positional isomers possess different reactivity, biological activity and toxicity as compared to the desired product. It is advantageous to control positional isomers in the early stages of the synthetic process, as rejection and analysis of these isomers will likely become more difficult in later stages. The current work reports the development of a chromatographic analysis of 2- and 3-fluorophenylacetic acid positional isomer impurities in 4-fluorophenylacetic acid (4-FPAA), a building block in the synthesis of an active pharmaceutical ingredient. The method is employed as a part of a Quality by Design Approach to control purity of the starting material in order to eliminate the presence of undesirable positional isomers in the final drug substance. During method development, a wide range of chromatographic conditions and structurally related positional isomer probe molecules were exploited in an effort to gain insight into the specifics of the separation mechanism. For the systems studied it was shown that the choice of organic modifier played a key role in achieving acceptable separation. Further studies encompassed investigation of temperature influence on retention and selectivity of the FPAA isomers separation. Thermodynamic analysis of these data showed that the selectivity of the 2- and 4- fluorophenylacetic acids separation was dominated by an enthalpic process, while the selectivity of the 4- and 3-fluorophenylacetic acids separation was exclusively entropy driven (Delta(DeltaH degrees approximately 0). Studies of chromatographic behavior were complemented by solid state NMR experiments which provided valuable information regarding the relationship between stationary phase solvation and selectivity.     

Orthogonal method development using hydrophilic interaction chromatography and reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography for the determination of pharmaceuticals and impurities

A hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC) method has been developed and validated as a secondary or orthogonal method complementary to a reversed-phase HPLC (RP-HPLC) method for quantitation of a polar active pharmaceutical ingredient and its three degradation products. The HILIC method uses a diol column and a mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile/water and ammonium chloride. The compounds of interest show significant differences in retention behaviors with the two very different chromatographic systems, which are desired in developing orthogonal methods. The HILIC method is validated and has met all validation acceptance criteria for the support of drug development activities.