Quantification of residual solvents in antibody drug conjugates using gas chromatography

The detection and quantification of residual solvents present in clinical and commercial pharmaceutical products is necessary from both patient safety and regulatory perspectives. Head-space gas chromatography is routinely used for quantitation of residual solvents for small molecule APIs produced through synthetic processes; however residual solvent analysis is generally not needed for protein based pharmaceuticals produced through cultured cell lines where solvents are not introduced. In contrast, antibody drug conjugates and other protein conjugates where a drug or other molecule is covalently bound to a protein typically use solvents such as N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMA), N,N?dimethylformamide (DMF), dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), or propylene glycol (PG) to dissolve the hydrophobic small molecule drug for conjugation to the protein. The levels of the solvent remaining following the conjugation step are therefore important to patient safety as these parental drug products are introduced directly into the patients bloodstream. We have developed a rapid sample preparation followed by a gas chromatography separation for the detection and quantification of several solvents typically used in these conjugation reactions. This generic method has been validated and can be easily implemented for use in quality control testing for clinical or commercial bioconjugated products.     

Analysis of class 1 residual solvents in pharmaceuticals using headspace-programmed temperature vaporization-fast gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

A sensitive method is presented for the fast screening and determination of residual class 1 solvents (1,1-dichloroethene, 1,2-dichloroethane, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, carbon tetrachloride and benzene) in pharmaceutical products. The applicability of a headspace (HS) autosampler in combination with GC equipped with a programmed temperature vaporizer (PTV) and a MS detector is explored. Different injection techniques were compared. The benefits of using solvent vent injection instead of split or splitless-hot injection for the measurement of volatile compounds are shown: better peak shapes, better signal-to-noise ratios, and hence better detection limits. The proposed method is extremely sensitive. The limits of detection ranged from 4.9 ppt (benzene) to 7.9 ppt (1,2-dichloroethane) and precision (measured as the relative standard deviation) was equal to or lower than 12% in all cases. The method was applied to the determination of residual solvents in nine different pharmaceutical products. The analytical performance of the method shows that it is appropriate for the determination of residual class 1 solvents and has much lower detection limits than the concentration limits proposed by the International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) of Technical Requirements for the Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use. The proposed method achieves a clear improvement in sensitivity with respect to conventional headspace methods due to the use of the PTV.     

气相色谱仪验证要点

介绍分析仪器验证的基本概念和主要内容。总结了气相色谱仪验证中设计确认、安装确认、运行确认和性能确认的验证过程和要点,详细介绍了验证内容、具体项目、参考指标、参与人员、时间频次和要点等内容,指出了气相色谱仪验证需要注意的问题,提出了气相色谱仪验证工作的改进建议,为气相色谱仪器验证提供技术参考。     

Quantitative analysis of phthalates using a pyrolyzer gas chromatography/mass spectrometry method

A pyrolyzer gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) method eliminates toxic solvents that burden our environment and can address the crucial problem of the solvent extraction GC/MS method. The purpose of this study is to establish an efficient quantitative analysis method for 10 phthalates that are regulated by the several governments. A change of concentrations over time for phthalates and internal standards was measured to verify the feasibility of using an auto sampler that facilitates analyzing multiple samples. Both standards maintained constant concentrations over the appropriate time for analysis. A certified reference material under the auspices of the Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science was used to verify the calibration curve obtained by the pyrolyzer GC/MS method, and a deviation was considered similar to the solvent extraction GC/MS method. Then, the limit of detection and limit of quantitation values were confirmed for various consumer products. To verify the reliability of the method, a comparative test with several accredited testing institutes was conducted, and the results were within the standard deviations of the results provided by the institutes. These results indicate that the pyrolyzer GC/MS method can be used in not only screening but also in accurate quantitative analysis.     

Gas chromatographic analysis of organic solvent mixtures on capillary columns of different polarity

Summary A gas chromatographic method for the analysis of organic solvents in chemical products is described. The analysis is performed by the use of a polar column, Supelcowax 10, and a non-polar column CP-Sil-5CB. Samples containing a non-volatile matrix or water were analysed by headspace analysis. The identification of the solvents in a sample, based on GC retention times on one column, is confirmed by GC of the sample on the second column. The method has been found to be suitable for the routine analysis of solvent mixtures.     

A generic static headspace gas chromatography method for determination of residual solvents in drug substance

In order to increase productivity of drug analysis in the pharmaceutical industry, an efficient and sensitive generic static headspace gas chromatography (HSGC) method was successfully developed and validated for the determination of 44 classes 2 and 3 solvents of International Conference of Harmonization (ICH) guideline Q3C, as residual solvents in drug substance. In order to increase the method sensitivity and efficiency in sample equilibration, dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) was selected as the sample diluent based on its high capacity of dissolving drug substance, stability and high boiling point. The HS sample equilibration temperature and equilibration time are assessed in ranges of 125–150 °C and 8–15 min, respectively. The results indicate that the residual solvents in 200 mg of drug substance can be equilibrated efficiently in HS sampler at 140 °C for 10 min. The GC parameters, e.g. sample split ratio, carrier flow rate and oven temperature gradient are manipulated to enhance the method sensitivity and separation efficiency. The two-stage gradient GC run from 35 to 240 °C, using an Agilent DB-624 capillary column (30 m long, 0.32 mm I.D., 1.8 μm film thickness), is suitable to determine 44 ICH classes 2 and 3 solvents in 30 min. The method validation results indicate that the method is accurate, precise, linear and sensitive for solvents assessed. The recoveries of most of these solvents from four drug substances are greater than 80% within the method determination ranges. However, this method is not suitable for the 10 remaining ICH classes 2 and 3 solvents, because they are too polar (e.g. formic acid and acidic acid), or have boiling points higher than 150 °C, (e.g. anisol and cumene). In comparison with the previous published methods, this method has a much shorter sample equilibration time, a better separation for many solvents, a higher sensitivity and a broader concentration range.     

大口径毛细管气相色谱检查药物中残留溶剂的方法研究

 以药物合成中常用的 16种有机溶剂为研究对象 ,建立了用大口径毛细管柱检查残留有机溶剂的气相色谱法 ,并考察了不同极性的色谱柱及不同提取溶剂对分离与检测的影响。实验表明 ,根据原料药合成中可能存在的残留溶剂 ,选用适当的提取溶剂 ,采用大口径毛细管气相色谱法检查 ,可获得较满意的结果。     

The full evaporation technique: a promising alternative for residual solvents analysis in solid samples

The static headspace technique is the most common approach to residual solvent analysis in pharmaceutical and environmental matrices. This paper presents an alternative tool where the volatile impurities are released from the matrix by working directly on a small amount of sample at a high equilibration temperature: the so-called Full Evaporation Technique (FET). The capability of this method was evaluated on a mixture of nine solvents, which belong to Class 3 in the classification of the European Pharmacopoeia Agency for residual solvents, at various levels of concentration: ethanol, acetone, 2-propanol, methyl acetate, 2-butanone, ethyl acetate, tetrahydrofuran, 2-methyl-1-propanol, 1-butanol. Data on linearity, accuracy, precision and sensitivity are reported. Use of an internal standard proved to be necessary when using such a method. The method is then successfully applied to the analysis of solvent traces in permethylated beta-cyclodextrin.     

Multiple headspace single-drop microextraction coupled with gas chromatography for direct determination of residual solvents in solid drug product

This paper proposed a multiple headspace single-drop microextraction (MHS-SDME) method coupled to gas chromatography with flame-ionization detection (GC-FID) for direct determination of residual solvents in solid drug product. The MHS-SDME technique is based on extrapolation to an exhaustive extraction of consecutive extractions from the same sample which eliminates the matrix effect on the quantitative analysis of solid samples. The total peak area of analyte is calculated with a beta constant which can be obtained from the slope of the linear regression that related to the peak area of each extraction and the number of extraction times. In this work, a model drug powder was chosen and the amounts of residues of two solvents, methanol and ethanol, were investigated. The factors influencing the extraction process including extraction solvent, microdrop volume, extraction time, sample amount, thermostatting temperature and incubation time were studied. 10 mg of drug powder was incubated for 3 h at 140 °C prior to the first extraction and thermostatted for 15 min at 140 °C between each extraction. Extraction was carried out with 2 μL of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) as the microdrop for 5 min. The features of the method were established using standard solutions. Validation of the proposed method showed good agreement with the traditional dissolution method for analysis of residual solvents in drug product. The results indicated that MHS-SDME has a great potential for the quantitative determination of residual solvents directly from the solid drug products due to its low cost, ease of operation, sensitivity, reliability and environmental protection.     

Room temperature ionic liquid as matrix medium for the determination of residual solvents in pharmaceuticals by static headspace gas chromatography

Using new solvent room temperature ionic liquid (IL) matrix media, testing of residual solvents in pharmaceutical preparations with static headspace gas chromatographic (SH-GC), is described. The purpose of this work was to demonstrate the feasibility of IL as diluent, six solvents utilized in synthesis of Adefovir Dipivoxil: acetonitrile, dichloromethane, N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP), toluene, dimethylformamide (DMF), n-butyl ether were dissolved in IL: 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([bmim]BF(4)). The method of external standard was used for quantitative analysis. Its performance was evaluated and validated: all the RSD were lower than 10%, the limits of detection were all of the ppm level and the method was both accurate and linear. And better sensitivities for the six solvents were gained with [bmim]BF(4) as diluent comparing with DMSO.     

Degradation products generated by sonication of benzyl alcohol, a sample preparation solvent for the determination of residual solvents in pharmaceutical bulks, on capillary gas chromatography

Benzyl alcohol used as the sample preparation solvent in the determination of residual solvents in pharmaceutical bulks yielded benzene, toluene, and benzaldehyde on capillary gas chromatography (GC) by sonication. The factors responsible for compounds generated are discussed. The quality of benzyl alcohol and the type of sonicator were not involved in the generation of benzene, toluene, and benzaldehyde, whereas matrix contributions were observed. The degradation profiles of benzyl alcohol and its analogous compounds obtained by pyrolysis-GC/mass spectrometric analysis were similar to those obtained by sonication, suggesting that benzyl alcohol is degraded by the high local heat generated by sonication. Consequently, no matter how long it may take to dissolve bulk substances in benzyl alcohol completely, we do not recommend the use of a sonicator in sample preparation for the determination of residual solvents in pharmaceutical bulks.     

Residual solvents determination in drug products by static headspace-gas chromatography

Summary Two static headspace selective methods for residual solvents belonging to Class I, II and III have been developed, optimized and validated for drug products, which are insoluble in water. The methods give very good sensitivities (detection limits under 10 ppm) and precision (under 5.5% RSD) for all solvents. The detection limit for benzene was 0.1 ppm, in concordance with Pharmacopoeia requirements. During method optimization we found that sample volume and water content have a critical influence on the sensitivity. From our data, it is beneficial to choose low sample volume. If sample solubility in the organic solvent allows it, the optimum sample volume is between 0.1 and 0.3 mL. For drug products with water content greater than 7%, the increase in sensitivity produced by water presence should be taken into consideration, otherwise inconsistent recovery data and underestimation of residual solvent content will happen. The headspace vial volume has a critical influence on system precision. Presented at Balaton Symposium '01 on High-Performance Separation Methods, Siófok, Hungary, September 2–4, 2001     

Mixed aqueous solutions as dilution media in the determination of residual solvents by static headspace gas chromatography

Static headspace (HS) sampling has been commonly used to test for volatile organic chemicals, usually referred to as residual solvents (RS) in pharmaceuticals. If the sample is not soluble in water, organic solvents are used. However, these seriously reduce the sensitivity in the determination of some RS. Here, mixed aqueous dilution media (a mixture of water and an organic solvent like dimethyl formamide, dimethyl sulfoxide or dimethyl acetamide) were studied as alternative media for static HS-gas chromatographic analysis. Although it has been known that mixed aqueous dilution media can often improve sensitivity for many RS, this study used a systematic approach to investigate phase volumes and the organic content in the HS sampling media. Reference solutions using 18 different class 1, 2 and 3 RS were evaluated. The effect of salt addition was also studied in this work. A significant increase in the peak area was observed for all RS using mixed aqueous dilution media, when compared with organic solvents alone. Matrix effects related to the mixed aqueous dilution media were also investigated and reported. Repeatability and linearity obtained with mixed aqueous dilution media were found to be similar to those observed with pure organic solvents.     

Thermal decomposition of cyclic organic peroxides in pure solvents and binary solvent mixtures

The thermal decomposition reaction of acetone cyclic triperoxide, acetone cyclic diperoxide, 4‐heptanone cyclic diperoxide, and pinacolone cyclic diperoxide ca. 0.02 M was studied in pure solvents (acetone and 1‐propanol) and in binary mixtures of acetone/1‐propanol at 150°C. The kinetics of each system was explored by gas chromatography (GC) at different solvent compositions. The reactions showed a behavior accordingly with a pseudo‐first‐order kinetic law up to at least 90% peroxide decomposition. The main organic products derived from these thermolysis reactions were detected by GC analysis. Among them, the corresponding ketones, methane, ethane, and propane were the main identified products. The rates of decomposition of pinacolone diperoxide in the pure solvents were practically independent of the solvent characteristics, so it was of no interest to analyze its kinetic behavior in binary solvent mixtures. In acetone/1‐propanol mixtures, the solvation effect on the cyclic peroxides derived from 4‐heptanone and acetone molecules was slightly dominated by specific interactions between 1‐propanol and a diradical‐activated complex initially formed. This species was preferentially solvated by 1‐propanol instead of acetone. Specific interactions between the O atoms from the peroxidic bond and the H from the OH in 1‐propanol can be taken into account. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 42: 347–353, 2010     

Trace analysis of pentachlorophenol (PCP) in wood and wood-based products – comparison of sample preparation procedures

The main problem with routine analyses of pentachlorophenol (PCP) and sodium pentachlorophenolate (Na-PCP) in wood and wood-based products is to determine critical PCP-contents. This task requires a reliable analytical method and statistical testing. An analytical procedure is described, which permits the determination of PCP and Na-PCP with sufficient sensitivity and accuracy. A medium size sieve (4 × 4 mm quadratic mesh) was found suitable for the grinding step. Different extraction techniques and solvents were tested systematically. Extraction by a combination of ultrasonication and shaking in the solvent mixture toluene/sulfuric acid showed best recoveries. The eluted PCP and Na-PCP were derivatized with acetic anhydride and determined by GC/ECD. The limits of detection and determination were 0.14 mg/kg and 0.40 mg/kg, respectively. Received: 6 August 1999 / Revised: 26 October 1999 / Accepted: 1 November 1999     

气相色谱法测定硫酸阿扎那韦中残留溶剂的含量

采用甲醇-正丁醇(体积比1:1)为稀释液配制样品, 消除乙醇、异丙醇与阿扎那韦形成的溶剂合物, 建立了气相色谱测定硫酸阿扎那韦中残留溶剂的方法.试验条件:FID检测器, 其温度为240℃; 进样口温度200℃, 分流比20:1;载体为氮气, 流速1 mL/min; 色谱柱初始温度35℃, 保持3 min, 以2℃/min的升温速率上升到70℃, 再以20℃/min的升温速率上升到220℃, 维持2 min.试验结果表明空白溶剂及样品不干扰测定, 各残留溶剂峰之间分离度良好.乙醇、丙酮、异丙醇、二氯甲烷、甲基叔丁基醚和正庚烷的检测限分别为2.063、0.575、2.001、4.379、0.875、0.504 μg/mL, 方法专属、灵敏.且上述溶剂分别在5.16~751.23、1.74~722.29、5.00~754.03、13.27~89.79、2.65~750.12、1.53~749.43 μg/mL范围内, 其质量浓度与峰面积的线性关系良好(r为0.999 0~1.000 0).方法的RSD均低于5.0%, 回收率结果均介于90%~110%之间, 方法重复性及准确度较好.可适用于硫酸阿扎那韦中的残留溶剂的测定.     

Fast capillary GC using a low thermal mass column oven for the determination of residual solvents in pharmaceuticals

A low thermal mass column oven was used for fast capillary GC analysis (high throughput) of residual solvents in pharmaceutical products. A dedicated capillary column, 20 m L x 180 microm ID x 1 microm DB-624 was programmed from 35 degrees C (30 s) to 150 degrees C at 100 degrees C/min and to 250 degrees C (30 s) at 200 degrees C/min, resulting in a total GC cycle time of less than 4 min. Complete separation of a target 20-component mixture was achieved, while method performance in terms of repeatability, sensitivity, and linearity was maintained in comparison to the generic method currently applied in our laboratories.     

Identification of solvents of abuse using gas chromatography/Fourier transform infrared spectrometry after headspace sampling

Summary After experimental intoxication of rats, gas chromatography — Fourier transform infrared spectrometry with headspace sampling (HS/GC/FT-IR) was used to identify solvents of abuse in biological material (blood, liver, lungs and brain). Limits of detection were measured for acetone, 2-butanone, ether, toluene and trichlorethylene with standard solutions. All the solvents have been identified in the organs of the intoxicated rats. For blood samples a salting-out effect was obtained with potassium carbonate. HS/GC/FT-IR allowed the identification of metabolites of acetone (isopropanol) and of 2-butanone (2-butanol) in blood and organs.     

Optimization of a novel headspace–solid‐phase microextraction–gas chromatographic method by means of a Doehlert uniform shell design for the analysis of trace level ethylene oxide residuals in sterilized medical devices

Medical devices sterilized by ethylene oxide (EtO) retain trace quantities of EtO residuals, which may irritate patients' tissue. Reliably quantifying trace level EtO residuals in small medical devices requires an extremely sensitive analytical method. In this research, a Doehlert uniform shell design was utilized in obtaining a response surface to optimize a novel headspace–solid‐phase microextraction–gas chromatographic (HS‐SPME‐GC) method developed for analyzing trace levels of EtO residuals in sterilized medical devices, by evaluating sterilized, polymer‐coated, drug‐eluting cardiovascular stents. The effects of four independent experimental variables (HS‐SPME desorption time, extraction temperature, GC inlet temperature and extraction time) on GC peak area response of EtO were investigated simultaneously and the most influential experimental variables determined were extraction temperature and GC inlet temperature, with the fitted model showing no evidence of lack‐of‐fit. The optimized HS‐SPME‐GC method demonstrated overall good linearity/linear range, accuracy, repeatability, reproducibility, absolute recovery and high sensitivity. This novel method was successfully applied to analysis of trace levels of EtO residuals in sterilized/aerated cardiovascular stents of various lengths and internal diameter, where, upon heating, trace EtO residuals fully volatilized into HS for extraction, thereby nullifying matrix effects. As an alternative, this novel HS‐SPME‐GC method can offer higher sensitivity compared with conventional headspace analyzer‐based sampling. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Proficiency testing as a tool to assess the performance of visual TLC quantitation estimates

The use of rapid and inexpensive nonlaboratory-based screening tests for drug quality assessments is recommended as a component of a drug quality assurance program in poor resource settings. We have established routine Minilab test procedures to screen product quality and a proficiency testing program to determine the competency of the inspectors and reliability of results. Samples for the proficiency testing were prepared by pulverizing a standard reference tablet of the appropriate drug and making serial dilutions with starch to obtain concentrations of 0, 40, and 100%. The samples, which were labeled only with the drug name and an identifying letter, were given to inspectors for quality screening using Minilab procedures. In round 1 of the proficiency test, only 3 of 28 substandard samples were correctly identified. Round 2 of the proficiency test, which was administered after a performance qualification test for the analytical method, showed much improvement: 19 of 27 substandard drugs were correctly identified, while 5 out of 9 inspectors made the correct inference on the quality of 45 samples. However, in both rounds, 2 inspectors failed to identify substandard samples, indicating that their technical competencies need to be improved for the reliability of the results. Although the thin-layer chromatography screening methods provide a rapid means for drug quality assessment, they need to be put in the hands of competent users. The inclusion of a proficiency test in the screening program provides a measure of determining competency of the personnel and reliability of the results.