Selective separation and characterization of the stress degradation products of ondansetron hydrochloride by liquid chromatography with quadrupole time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry

Ondansetron hydrochloride was subjected to forced degradation studies under various conditions of hydrolysis (acidic, basic, and neutral), oxidation, photolysis, and thermal as prescribed by International Conference on Harmonisation guideline Q1A (R2). A simple, selective, precise, and accurate high‐performance liquid chromatography method was developed on a Waters Xterra C₁₈ (150 × 4.6 mm id, 3.5 μm) column using 10 mM ammonium formate (pH 3.0)/methanol as a mobile phase in gradient elution mode at a flow rate of 0.6 mL/min. The method was extended to liquid chromatography quadrupole time‐of‐flight tandem mass spectrometry for identification and structural characterization of stress degradation products of ondansetron. The drug showed significant degradation in base hydrolytic and photolytic stress conditions in the liquid state, while it was found to be stable in neutral, acidic, thermal, and oxidative stress conditions. A total of five degradation products were characterized and most probable mechanisms for the formation of degradation products have been proposed on the basis of a comparison of the fragmentation of the [M + H]⁺ ions of the drug and its degradation products. Finally, the developed method was validated in terms of specificity, linearity, accuracy, precision, and robustness as per International Conference on Harmonisation guideline Q2 (R1).     

Characterization of forced degradation products of pazopanib hydrochloride by UHPLC‐Q‐TOF/MS and in silico toxicity prediction

Pazopanib (PZ), an anti‐cancer drug, was subjected to forced degradation under hydrolytic (acid, base and neutral), oxidative, photolytic and thermal stress conditions as per International Conference on Harmonization guidelines. A selective stability indicating validated method was developed using a Waters Acquity UPLC HSS T3 (100 × 2.1 mm, 1.7 µm) column in gradient mode with ammonium acetate buffer (10 m m , pH 5.0) and acetonitrile. PZ was found to degrade only in photolytic conditions to produce six transformation products (TPs). All the TPs were identified and characterized by liquid chromatography/atmospheric pressure chemical ionization–quadrupole‐time of flight mass spectrometry experiments in combination with accurate mass measurements. Plausible mechanisms have been proposed for the formation of TPs. In silico toxicity was predicted using TOPKAT and DEREK softwares for all the TPs. The TP, N4‐(2,3‐dimethyl‐2H‐indazol‐6‐yl)‐N4‐methylpyrimidine‐2,4‐diamine, was found to be genotoxic, whereas all other TPs with sulfonamide moiety were hepatotoxic. The data reported here are expected to be of significance as this study foresees the formation of one potential genotoxic and five hepatotoxic degradation/transformation products. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Stability‐indicating chromatographic methods for determination of flecainide acetate in the presence of its degradation products; isolation and identification of two of its impurities

In this work, two stability‐indicating chromatographic methods have been developed and validated for determination of flecainide acetate (an antiarrhythmic drug) in the presence of its degradation products (flecainide impurities; B and D). Flecainide acetate was subjected to a stress stability study including acid, alkali, oxidative, photolytic and thermal degradation. The suggested chromatographic methods included the use of thin layer chromatography (TLC‐densitometry) and high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The TLC method employed aluminum TLC plates precoated with silica gel G.F₂₅₄ as the stationary phase and methanol–ethyl acetate–33% ammonia (3:7:0.3, by volume) as the mobile phase. The chromatograms were scanned at 290 nm and visualized in daylight by the aid of iodine vapor. The developed HPLC method used a RP‐C₁₈ column with isocratic elution. Separation was achieved using a mobile phase composed of phosphate buffer pH 3.3–acetonitrile–triethylamine (53:47:0.03, by volume) at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min and UV detection at 292 nm. Factors affecting the efficiency of HPLC method have been studied carefully to reach the optimum conditions for separation. The developed methods were validated according to the International Conference on Harmonization guidelines and were applied for bulk powder and dosage form. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Characterization of stress degradation products of amodiaquine dihydrochloride by liquid chromatography with high‐resolution mass spectrometry and prediction of their properties by using ADMET Predictor™

The degradation behavior of amodiaquine dihydrochloride, an antimalarial drug, was investigated in solution as well as solid states. The drug was subjected to hydrolytic, photolytic, oxidative, and thermal stress conditions, according to International Conference on Harmonization guideline Q1A(R2). It showed extensive hydrolysis in acidic, alkaline, and neutral solutions both with and without light, while it proved to be stable to thermal and oxidative conditions. In total, six degradation products were formed, which were separated on a C8 column, employing a gradient reversed‐phase high‐performance liquid chromatography method in which acetonitrile and 10 mM ammonium formate (pH 3.0) were used in the mobile phase. To characterize the degradation products, mass fragmentation behavior of the drug was established by direct infusion of solution to quadrupole time‐of‐flight and multiple‐stage mass spectrometry systems. Liquid chromatography with high‐resolution mass spectrometry studies were subsequently carried out on the stressed samples using the same gradient high‐performance liquid chromatography method employed for the separation of the degradation products. Hydrogen/deuterium exchange studies were additionally conducted to determine the number of labile hydrogen atoms. The degradation pathway of the drug was delineated, justified by mechanistic explanation. Lastly, ADMET Predictor™ software was employed to predict relevant physicochemical and toxicity data for the degradation products.     

A validated stability‐indicating ultra performance liquid chromatography method for the determination of potential process‐related impurities in eplerenone

A simple, sensitive, and accurate stability‐indicating analytical method has been developed and validated using ultra high performance liquid chromatography. The developed method is used to evaluate the related substances of eplerenone (EP). The degradation behavior of EP under stress conditions was determined, and the major degradants were identified by ultra high performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry. The chromatographic conditions were optimized using an impurity‐spiked solution, and the samples, generated from forced degradation studies. The resolution of EP, its potential impurities, and its degradation products was performed on a Waters UPLC BEH C₁₈ column (50 × 2.1 mm, 1.7 μm) by linear gradient elution using a mobile phase consisting of 10 mmol/L ammonium acetate adjusted to pH 4.5, methanol and acetonitrile. A photo‐diode array detector set at 245 nm was used for detection. The flow rate was set at 0.3 mL/min. The procedure had good specificity, linearity (0.02–3.14 μg/mL), recovery (96.1–103.9%), limit of detection (0.01–0.02 μg/mL), limit of quantitation (0.03–0.05 μg/mL), and robustness. The correction factors of the process‐related substances were calculated.     

Structural identification of degradants of moexipril by LC–MS/MS

A gradient LC–MS method was developed for the identification and characterization of degradants of moexipril using liquid chromatography electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC/ESI‐MS/MS). Moexipril was subjected to hydrolysis (acid, base and neutral), oxidation, photolytic and thermal degradation conditions as mentioned in ICH guidelines Q1A (R2). The drug degraded under hydrolysis, oxidation and photolytic conditions, but it was stable under thermal conditions. In total, five degradants were formed and separated on an Agilent XDB C‐18 column (4.6 × 150 mm, 5 μm) in a gradient elution method. Four degradants ( D1 , D2 , D4 and D5 ) under acidic conditions, three degradants ( D2 , D3 and D4 ) under basic conditions and three degradants ( D1 , D4 and D5 ) under neutral and oxidative stress conditions were formed. In addition, two degradants ( D4 and D5 ) were formed under photolytic stress conditions. To elucidate the structures of degradants, fragmentation of moexipril and its degradants was studied using LC–MS/MS experiments and accurate mass measurements (HRMS) data. The fragment ions in the product ion tandem mass spectra of all the degradants were compared with those of moexipril and assigned the probable structures for the degradants.     

Liquid chromatography/mass spectrometric studies on atorvastatin and its stress degradation products

A comprehensive mass fragmentation pathway of atorvastatin, which has not been reported so far, was established by subjecting the drug to multi-stage mass spectrometric (MSn) studies. It was used along with liquid chromatography/mass spectrometric (LC/MS) and liquid chromatography/time-of-flight mass spectrometric (LC/TOFMS) analyses to identify the drug degradation products formed under stress conditions of hydrolysis, oxidation and photolysis. Other than lactone, which is a reported hydrolysis product, six unknown hydrolytic products could be identified, viz., dehydrated drug, dehydrated drug lactone, and diastereomers of the drug, drug lactone, dehydrated drug, and dehydrated drug lactone. Among the two products separated under oxidative conditions, one was lactone, again formed as a result of drug hydrolysis in an acidic environment of peroxide solution. The other was similar to a reported oxidative product. Under photolytic conditions in solution, one new product could be identified, while most of the others matched with those known from the literature. Hence overall a more complete degradation pathway of the drug was established than known at present, by using a stress testing approach and employing LC/MS techniques.     

Optimization of mobile phase for the determination of Esomeprazole and related compounds and investigation of stress degradation by LC–MS

In this study, the objective was to investigate the degradation behavior of Esomeprazole under different recommended stress conditions according to International Conference on Harmonization of Technical Requirements for Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use [1] by HPLC. Our research showed that the effect of mobile phase species on separation was significant for the determination of Esomeprazole and its related compounds. Successful separation of the drug from its related impurities and degradation products formed under different stress conditions was achieved using ammonium acetate buffer/ACN by a gradient elution. Compared with phosphate buffer/ACN, ammonium acetate buffer/ACN under same pH and gradient showed a great improvement in resolution due to the change of elution order. The drug was subjected to stress conditions including acidic, alkaline, oxidative, photolytic, and thermal conditions. Extensive degradation occurred in acidic and oxidative conditions, while mild degradation was observed in alkaline and photolytic conditions. Besides, it turned out the drug was extremely stable under thermal condition. The stability‐indicating LC–UV method was validated with respect to linearity, precision, accuracy, specificity, and robustness. The LC–MS method was also adopted for the characterization of degradation products. Based on the m/z values and fragmentation patterns, the degradation pathway of the drug has been proposed.     

Stress degradation study and structure characterization of oxidation degradation product of dexlansoprazole using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry/time of flight,liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance

The present study deals with the forced degradation behavior of dexlansoprazole under International Conference on Harmonisation (ICH) prescribed stress conditions. The drug was found to be more labile under acid, base, neutral, oxidative hydrolysis and thermal stress, while it was moderately stable under photolytic conditions. The known and unknown degradation products were separated on a C-18 column using a stability-indicating method. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis was performed for all the degradation studies. Isolation and structure characterization of oxidation degradation products were executed using sophisticated tools, viz. preparative high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry/time of flight (LC-MS/TOF), liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). This study demonstrates an ample methodology of degradation studies and structure elucidation of unknown degradation products of dexlansoprazole, which helps in the development and stability study of active pharmaceutical ingredients and formulated products.     

液相色谱-飞行时间质谱、液相色谱-串联质谱和核磁共振用于右旋兰索拉唑的强制降解研究和氧化降解产物的结构表征(英文)

The present study deals with the forced degradation behavior of dexlansoprazole under International Conference on Harmonisation(ICH)prescribed stress conditions. The drug was found to be more labile under acid,base,neutral,oxidative hydrolysis and thermal stress,while it was moderately stable under photolytic conditions. The known and unknown degradation products were separated on a C-18 column using a stabilityindicating method. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry(LC-MS)analysis was performed for all the degradation studies. Isolation and structure characterization of oxidation degradation products were executed using sophisticated tools,viz. preparative high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC),liquid chromatographymass spectrometry / time of flight(LC-MS / TOF),liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry(LC-MS /MS),and nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR). This study demonstrates an ample methodology of degradation studies and structure elucidation of unknown degradation products of dexlansoprazole,which helps in the development and stability study of active pharmaceutical ingredients and formulated products.     

Development and validation of a stability‐indicating assay including the isolation and characterization of degradation products of metaxalone by LC‐MS

A stability‐indicating reverse‐phase high‐performance liquid chromatography–mass spectrometric method was developed and validated for the assay of metaxalone through forced degradation under acidic, alkaline, photo, oxidative and peroxide stress conditions. Separation of degradation products was accomplished on a reverse‐phase Phenomenex C₁₈ (250 × 4.6 mm, 5 µm) column thermostated at 25°C using 10 mM aqueous ammonium acetate: methanol (35:65 v/v) as mobile phase in an isocratic mode of elution. The eluents were detected at 275 nm by photo diode array detector and mass detectors connected in series. Two unknown base hydrolysis products of metaxalone were identified and characterized as (a) methyl 3‐(3,5‐dimethylphenoxy)‐2‐hydroxypropylcarbamate and (b) 1‐(3,5‐dimethylphenoxy)‐3‐aminopropan‐2‐ol by MS, ¹H NMR and FTIR spectroscopy. The method was validated as per International Conference on Harmonization guidelines and metaxalone was selectively determined in presence of its degradation impurities, demonstrating its stability‐indicating nature. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Identification and characterization of forced degradation products and stability‐indicating assay for notoginsenosidefc by using UHPLC‐Q‐TOF‐MS and UHPLC‐MS/MS: Insights into stability profile and degradation pathways

Notoginsenoside Fc, a protopanaxadiol‐type saponin, shows multi‐pharmacological activities. Chemical stability evaluation plays a crucial role in drug development. In this study, the forced degradation behavior of Notoginsenoside Fc was investigated under hydrolytic and oxidative conditions. A specific ultra high performance liquid chromatography with quadrupole time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry was developed for the separation, identification, and characterization of the degradation products of Notoginsenoside Fc. Fifty potential degradation products were formed via deglycosylation, dehydration, hydration, isomerization, side‐chain cleaving, oxidation, and superoxidation. Notoginsenoside Fc was subjected to different pH solutions, temperatures, and time periods to assess its stability. A sensitive ultra high performance liquid chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometry was developed for the quantification of Notoginsenoside Fc, notoginsenoside ST‐4, notoginsenoside Ft1, and relative quantification of notoginsenoside Ft2, 20(R)‐notoginsenoside Ft2, notoginsenoside SFt3, and notoginsenoside SFt4. The assay was linear over the concentration range (R² > 0.997) with the lowest limit of quantification of 0.02 μg/mL for Notoginsenoside Fc, Notoginsenoside ST‐4, and Notoginsenoside Ft1. The intra‐day precision, inter‐day precision, and accuracy of the three analytes were within accepted levels. The degradation kinetics of Notoginsenoside Fc in pH 1 and 3 solutions fits to first‐ and second‐order kinetics, respectively. The degradation of Notoginsenoside Fc is pH‐, temperature‐, and time‐dependent.     

Study of the degradation behavior of dapagliflozin propanediol monohydrate and metformin hydrochloride by a stability-indicating high-performance thin-layer chromatographic method

A simple, selective, precise, rapid and accurate stability-indicating high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) method was developed and validated for the estimation of dapagliflozin and metformin in tablet dosage form. In this work, methanol–ethyl acetate–ammonium acetate (6:4:0.1, V/V) as the mobile phase and aluminum-backed TLC plates pre-coated with 250 µm layer of silica gel 60F₂₅₄ as the stationary phase were used for the estimation of dapagliflozin and metformin. The wavelength selected for detection was 220 nm. The linearity range was found to be 20–100 ng/spot (r² = 0.9985) for dapagliflozin and 500–2500 ng/spot (r² = 0.9984) for metformin. Validation of the developed method was performed as per the International Council for Harmonisation (ICH) guidelines. Stress testing of dapagliflozin and metformin was performed under acidic, alkaline, oxidative, photolytic and dry-heat degradation conditions. The chromatographic conditions successfully resolved dapagliflozin and metformin from their degradation products, formed under various stress conditions. From stress testing, dapagliflozin was found to be significantly degrading under acidic, alkaline, oxidative, photolytic and dry-heat degradation conditions, while metformin was found to be significantly degrading in acidic and alkaline degradation conditions and stable under oxidative, photolytic and dry-heat degradation conditions. Tablet dosage form of dapagliflozin and metformin was analyzed by the developed method.

     

Determination of Atazanavir in the Presence of its Degradation Products by a Stability-Indicating LC Method

A forced degradation study was successfully applied for the development of a stability-indicating assay method for the determination of atazanavir in presence of its degradation products. The method was developed and optimized by analyzing the forcefully degraded samples. Degradation of the drug was done under acidic, alkaline, oxidative, photolytic and thermal stress conditions. The proposed method was able to resolve all of the possible degradation products formed during the stress studies. The major impurities are generated in acidic and alkaline conditions. The product was found stable under thermal, photolytic and oxidative conditions. The developed method was validated for determination of atazanavir, and the method was found to be equality applicable to study the impurities formed during routine and forced degradation of atazanavir.     

Comprehensive stability‐indicating high‐performance liquid chromatography coupled with diode array detection method for simultaneous determination of amprolium hydrochloride and ethopabate in powder dosage form for veterinary use

This research deals with the development of a stability‐indicating high‐performance liquid chromatography method for simultaneous determination of amprolium hydrochloride and ethopabate. To the best of our knowledge, no comprehensive stability‐indicating method has been reported for analysis of this mixture. Separation was achieved using Kromasil cyano column with gradient elution of the mobile phase composed of sodium hexane sulfonate solution and methanol. Quantification was based on measuring peak areas at 266 nm. Amprolium and ethopabate peaks eluted at retention times 10.42 and 18.53 min, respectively. The proposed procedure was validated with respect to system suitability, linearity, ranges, precision, accuracy, specificity, robustness, detection, and quantification limits. Linearity ranges for amprolium and ethopabate were 1.5–240 and 1–160 μg/mL, respectively. Analytes were subjected to stress conditions of hydrolysis, oxidation and thermal degradation. The proposed method enabled resolution of drugs from their forced‐degradation products and amprolium related substance (2‐picoline). Moreover, specificity was verified by resolution of the analytes from about 22 drugs used in antimicrobial veterinary products. The validated method was successfully applied to assay of the combined veterinary powder dosage form, additionally it was implemented in the accelerated stability study of the dosage form when stored for six months at 40°C and 75% relative humidity.     

Separation and identification of process‐related substances and degradation products in mycophenolate mofetil by liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole‐time of flight mass spectrometry

Mycophenolate mofetil is an antiproliferative immunosuppressive agent. Since its clinical efficacy and safety highly depend on the quality, the stability, and impurity profiles of mycophenolate mofetil are paid ever‐increasing attention. However, there are few published studies reporting the complete characterization of both the process‐related substances and degradation products in mycophenolate mofetil. In the present study, a highly specific and efficient liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole‐time of flight mass spectrometry method was developed for the separation and identification of all the potential impurities in mycophenolate mofetil. According to the ICH Q1A (R2) guideline, the forced degradation studies were conducted to elucidate the stability and degradation pathways of mycophenolate mofetil. A total of 15 related substances, including the process‐related substances and stress degradation products were characterized by the established hyphenated method, 11 of them have not been reported before. In view of the synthetic route and degradation pathways of mycophenolate mofetil, the origins and formation mechanisms of these related substances were discussed. Based on the obtained stability and impurity profiles, key points of the manufacturing process were proposed to deliver mycophenolate mofetil with high purity.     

Assessing the detectability of antioxidants in two‐dimensional high‐performance liquid chromatography

This paper explores the analytical figures of merit of two‐dimensional high‐performance liquid chromatography for the separation of antioxidant standards. The cumulative two‐dimensional high‐performance liquid chromatography peak area was calculated for 11 antioxidants by two different methods—the areas reported by the control software and by fitting the data with a Gaussian model; these methods were evaluated for precision and sensitivity. Both methods demonstrated excellent precision in regards to retention time in the second dimension (%RSD below 1.16%) and cumulative second dimension peak area (%RSD below 3.73% from the instrument software and 5.87% for the Gaussian method). Combining areas reported by the high‐performance liquid chromatographic control software displayed superior limits of detection, in the order of 1 × 10^?6 M, almost an order of magnitude lower than the Gaussian method for some analytes. The introduction of the countergradient eliminated the strong solvent mismatch between dimensions, leading to a much improved peak shape and better detection limits for quantification.     

A validated stability-indicating RP-HPLC assay method for Amsacrine and its related substances

A validated specific stability indicating reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography method was developed for the quantitative determination of Amsacrine as well as its related substances determination in bulk samples, in presence of degradation products, and its process related impurities. Forced degradation studies were performed on bulk samples of Amsacrine as per International Conference on Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human use (ICH) prescribed stress conditions using acid, base, oxidative, thermal stress, and photolytic degradation to show the stability indicating power of the method. Significant degradation was observed during basic hydrolysis, slight degradation was observed in oxidative and thermal stress, and no degradation was observed in other stress conditions. The chromatographic method was optimized using the samples generated from forced degradation studies and the impurity spiked solution. Good resolution between the peaks corresponds to process-related impurities and degradation products from the analyte were achieved on Inertsil ODS column using the mobile phase consists a mixture of 1.0% triethyl amine in 20 mM potassium dihydrogen orthophosphate, with pH adjusted to 6.5, with ortho phosphoric acid in water and acetonitrile using a simple linear gradient. The detection was carried out at wavelength 248 nm. The mass balance in each case was in between 99.4% to 99.9%, indicating that the developed method was stability-indicating. Validation of the developed method was carried out as per ICH requirements. The developed method was found to be suitable to check the quality of bulk samples of Amsacrine at the time of batch release and also during its stability studies.     

Chromatographic methods development,validation and degradation characterization of the antithyroid drug Carbimazole

The current paper reports the development and validation of stability‐indicating HPLC and HPTLC methods for the separation and quantification of main impurity and degradation product of Carbimazole. The structures of the degradation products formed under stress degradation conditions, including hydrolytic and oxidative, photolytic and thermal conditions, were characterized and confirmed by MS and IR analyses. Based on the characterization data, the obtained degradation product from hydrolytic conditions was found to be methimazole—impurity A of Carbimazole as reported by the British Pharmacopeia and the European Pharmacopeia. A stability‐indicating HPLC method was carried out using a Zorbax Eclipse Plus CN column (150 × 4.6 mm i.d, 5 μm particle size) and a mobile phase composed of acetonitrile–0.05 m KH₂PO₄ (20: 80, v/v) in isocratic elution, at a flow rate of 1 mL/min. The method was proved to be sensitive for the determination down to 0.5% of Carbimazole impurity A. Additionally, a stability‐indicating chromatographic HPTLC method was achieved using cyclohexane–ethanol (9:1, v/v) as a developing system on HPTLC plates F₂₅₄ with UV detection at 225 nm. The proposed HPLC and HPTLC methods were successfully applied to Carbimazole^® tablets with mean percentage recoveries of 100.12 and 99.73%, respectively.     

Development of a high‐performance liquid chromatography method with fluorescence detection for the routine quantification of tamoxifen,endoxifen and 4‐hydroxytamoxifen in plasma from breast cancer patients

To date, several methods for the quantification of tamoxifen and its metabolites have been developed, most of which employ liquid chromatography tandem–mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS). These methods are highly sensitive and reproducible, but are also time‐consuming and require expensive equipment; one of their main disadvantages is matrix ionization effects. A more viable option, particularly in developing countries, is high‐performance liquid chromatography coupled with UV or fluorescence detection. We developed and validated a method for simultaneous quantification of tamoxifen, endoxifen and 4‐hydroxytamoxifen based on high‐performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection in a reverse‐phase column. The method is rapid (16 min plus 5 min of column re‐equilibrium), accurate (80–100%) and precise (0.23–6.00%), and does not require any additional irradiation process. Sample pretreatment consists of protein precipitation with acetonitrile under alkaline conditions, employing only 200 μL plasma. The validated method's wide range allowed quantification of steady‐state levels in patients under standard tamoxifen treatment (20 mg/day). This assay is ready for application in clinical studies and routine quantification of tamoxifen, endoxifen and 4‐hydroxytamoxifen in healthcare institutions.