Sustained prediction ability of net analyte preprocessing methods using reduced calibration sets. Theoretical and experimental study involving the spectrophotometric analysis of multicomponent mixtures

A newly developed multivariate method involving net analyte preprocessing (NAP) was tested using central composite calibration designs of progressively decreasing size regarding the multivariate simultaneous spectrophotometric determination of three active components (phenylephrine, diphenhydramine and naphazoline) and one excipient (methylparaben) in nasal solutions. Its performance was evaluated and compared with that of partial least-squares (PLS-1). Minimisation of the calibration predicted error sum of squares (PRESS) as a function of a moving spectral window helped to select appropriate working spectral ranges for both methods. The comparison of NAP and PLS results was carried out using two tests: (1) the elliptical joint confidence region for the slope and intercept of a predicted versus actual concentrations plot for a large validation set of samples and (2) the D-optimality criterion concerning the information content of the calibration data matrix. Extensive simulations and experimental validation showed that, unlike PLS, the NAP method is able to furnish highly satisfactory results when the calibration set is reduced from a full four-component central composite to a fractional central composite, as expected from the modelling requirements of net analyte based methods.     

A novel fourth-order calibration method based on alternating quinquelinear decomposition algorithm for processing high performance liquid chromatography–diode array detection– kinetic-pH data of naptalam hydrolysis

Five-way high performance liquid chromatography–diode array detection (HPLC–DAD)–kinetic-pH data were obtained by recording the kinetic evolution of HPLC–DAD signals of samples at different pH values and a new fourth-order calibration method, alternating quinquelinear decomposition (AQQLD) based on pseudo-fully stretched matrix forms of the quinquelinear model, was developed. Simulated data were analyzed to investigate the performance of AQQLD in comparison with five-way parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC). The tested results demonstrated that AQQLD has the advantage of faster convergence rate and being insensitive to the excess component number adopted in the model. Then, they have been successfully applied to investigate quantitatively the kinetics of naptalam (NAP) hydrolysis in two practical systems. Additionally, the serious chromatographic peak shifts were accurately corrected by means of chromatographic peak alignment method based on abstract subspace difference. The good recoveries of NAP were obtained in these samples by selecting the time region of chromatogram. The elution time, spectral, kinetic time and pH profiles resolved by the chemometric techniques were in good agreement with experimental observations. It demonstrates the potential for the utilization of fourth-order data for some complex systems, opening up a new approach to fourth-order data generation and subsequent fourth-order calibration.     

Simultaneous spectrophotometric-multivariate calibration determination of several components of ophthalmic solutions: phenylephrine, chloramphenicol, antipyrine, methylparaben and thimerosal

The use of multivariate spectrophotometric calibration for the simultaneous determination of several active components and excipients in ophthalmic solutions is presented. The resolution of five-component mixtures of phenylephrine, chloramphenicol, antipyrine, methylparaben and thimerosal has been accomplished by using partial least-squares (PLS-1) and a variant of the so-called hybrid linear analysis (HLA). Notwithstanding the presence of a large number of components and their high degree of spectral overlap, they have been determined simultaneously with high accuracy and precision, with no interference, rapidly and without resorting to extraction procedures using non aqueous solvents. A simple and fast method for wavelength selection in the calibration step is presented, based on the minimisation of the predicted error sum of squares (PRESS) calculated as a function of a moving spectral window.     

The maintenance of the second-order advantage: second-order calibration of excitation-emission matrix fluorescence for quantitative analysis of herbicide napropamide in various environmental samples

A rapid non-separative spectrofluorometric method based on the second-order calibration of excitation-emission matrix (EEM) fluorescence was proposed for the determination of napropamide (NAP) in soil, river sediment, and wastewater as well as river water samples. With 0.10 mol L⁻¹ sodium citrate-hydrochloric acid (HCl) buffer solution of pH 2.2, the system of NAP has a large increase in fluorescence intensity. To handle the intrinsic fluorescence interferences of environmental samples, the alternating penalty trilinear decomposition (APTLD) algorithm as an efficient second-order calibration method was employed. Satisfactory results have been achieved for NAP in complex environmental samples. The limit of detection obtained for NAP in soil, river sediment, wastewater and river water samples were 0.80, 0.24, 0.12, 0.071 ng mL⁻¹, respectively. Furthermore, in order to fully investigate the performance of second-order calibration method, we test the second-order calibration method using different calibration approaches including the single matrix model, the intra-day various matrices model and the global model based on the APTLD algorithm with nature environmental datasets. The results showed the second-order calibration methods also enable one or more analyte(s) of interest to be determined simultaneously in the samples with various types of matrices. The maintenance of second-order advantage has been demonstrated in simultaneous determinations of the analyte of interests in the environmental samples of various matrices.     

Simultaneous determination of naphazoline and pyridoxine in eye drops using excitation–emission matrix fluorescence coupled with second-order calibration method based on alternating trilinear decomposition algorithm

A novel method is developed for the direct determination of naphazoline hydrochloride(NAP) and pyridoxine hydrochloride(VB6) in commercial eye drops. By using excitation–emission matrix(EEM)fluorescence coupled with second-order calibration method based on the alternating trilinear decomposition(ATLD) algorithm, the proposed approach can achieve quantitative analysis successfully even in the presence of unknown and uncalibrated interferences. The method shows good linearity for NAP and VB6 with correlation coefficients greater than 0.99. The results were in good agreement with the labeled contents. To further confirm the feasibility and reliability of the proposed method, the same batch samples were analyzed by multiple reaction monitoring(MRM) based on LC–MS/MS method.T-test demonstrated that there are no significant differences between the prediction results of the two methods. The satisfactory results obtained in this work indicate that the use of the second-order calibration method coupled with the EEM is a promising tool for industrial quality control and pharmaceutical analysis due to its advantages of high sensitivity, low-cost and simple implementation.     

Comparative study of net analyte signal-based methods and partial least squares for the simultaneous determination of amoxycillin and clavulanic acid by stopped-flow kinetic analysis

A comparative study about advantages and limitations of net analyte signal (NAS)-based methods (NBMs) and partial least squares (PLS) calibration in kinetic analysis has been performed. The different multivariate calibration methods were applied to the determination of binary mixtures of amoxycillin and clavulanic acid, by stopped-flow kinetic analysis. The reactions of oxidation of these compounds with cerium(IV), in sulphuric acid medium, were monitored by following the changes on the fluorescence of the oxidation products, in stopped-flow mode. The differences on the kinetic profiles obtained at λ_ex=256 nm and λ_em=351 nm, were used to determine mixtures of both compounds by multivariate calibration of the kinetic data, using PLS-1, a modification of hybrid linear analysis (HLA) and net analyte pre-processing combined with classical least squares (NAP/CLS) methods. The NBMs allowed the selection of optimal time data regions by calculating the minimum error indicator function (EIF), improving the results and making NBMs very convenient for the analysis. In addition, the use of the net analyte signal concept allows the calculation of the analytical figures of merit, limit of detection (LOD), sensitivity and selectivity, for each component.     

Robust calibrations on reduced sample sets for API content prediction in tablets: Definition of a cost-effective NIR model development strategy

Owing to spectral variations from other sources than the component of interest, large investments in the NIR model development may be required to obtain satisfactory and robust prediction performance. To make the NIR model development for routine active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) prediction in tablets more cost-effective, alternative modelling strategies were proposed. They used a massive amount of prior spectral information on intra- and inter-batch variation and the pure component spectra to define a clutter, i.e., the detrimental spectral information. This was subsequently used for artificial data augmentation and/or orthogonal projections. The model performance improved statistically significantly, with a 34–40% reduction in RMSEP while needing fewer model latent variables, by applying the following procedure before PLS regression: (1) augmentation of the calibration spectra with the spectral shapes from the clutter, and (2) net analyte pre-processing (NAP). The improved prediction performance was not compromised when reducing the variability in the calibration set, making exhaustive calibration unnecessary. Strong water content variations in the tablets caused frequency shifts of the API absorption signals that could not be included in the clutter. Updating the model for this kind of variation demonstrated that the completeness of the clutter is critical for the performance of these models and that the model will only be more robust for spectral variation that is not co-linear with the one from the property of interest.     

Simultaneous determination of phenobarbital and phenytoin in tablet preparations by multivariate spectrophotometric calibration

The use of multivariate spectrophotometric calibration for the simultaneous determination of the active components of antiepileptic tablets is presented. The resolution of binary mixtures of phenobarbital and phenytoin has been accomplished by using partial least squares (PLS-1) regression analysis. Although the components show an important degree of spectral overlap, they have been simultaneously determined with high accuracy, with no interference from tablet excipients. A comparison is presented with the related multivariate method of classical least squares (CLS) analysis, which is shown to yield less reliable results due to the severe spectral overlap presented by the studied compounds. A statistical measure for the spectral overlap is proposed.     

Complementary use of partial least-squares and artificial neural networks for the non-linear spectrophotometric analysis of pharmaceutical samples

The complementary use of partial least-squares (PLS) multivariate calibration and artificial neural networks (ANNs) for the simultaneous spectrophotometric determination of three active components in a pharmaceutical formulation has been explored. The presence of non-linearities caused by chemical interactions was confirmed by a recently discussed methodology based on Mallows augmented partial residual plots. Ternary mixtures of chlorpheniramine, naphazoline and dexamethasone in a matrix of excipients have been resolved by using PLS for the two major analytes (chlorpheniramine and naphazoline) and ANNs for the minor one (dexamethasone). Notwithstanding the large number of constituents, their high degree of spectral overlap and the occurrence of non-linearities, rapid and simultaneous analysis has been achieved, with reasonably good accuracy and precision. No extraction procedures using non-aqueous solvents are required.     

Comparison of near-infrared and mid-infrared spectroscopy for the determination of distillation property of kerosene

Near-infrared (NIR) and mid-infrared (MIR) spectroscopy have been compared and evaluated for the determination of the distillation property of kerosene with the use of partial least squares (PLS) regression. Since kerosene is a complex mixture of similar hydrocarbons, both spectroscopic methods will be best evaluated with this complex sample matrix. PLS calibration models for each percent recovery temperature have been developed by using both NIR and MIR spectra without spectral pretreatment. Both methods have shown good correlation with the corresponding reference method, however NIR provided better calibration performance over MIR. To rationalize the improved calibration performance of NIR, spectra of the same kerosene sample were continuously collected and the corresponding spectral reproducibility was evaluated. The greater spectral reproducibility including signal-to-noise ratio of NIR led to the improved calibration performance, even though MIR spectroscopy provided more qualitative spectral information. The reproducibility of measurement, signal-to-noise ratio, and richness of qualitative information should be simultaneously considered for proper selection of a spectroscopic method for quantitative analysis.     

An optimization procedure for determination of indomethacin and acemethacin by differential pulse adsorptive stripping voltammetry. Application on urine samples

Procedures for the determination of indomethacin and acemethacin by differential pulse adsorptive stripping voltammetry with a mercury electrode have been described and optimised. The selection and optimization of the experimental parameters was done using factorial and central composite designs. Indomethacin and acemethacin in urine were determined by this method with good results and without the need for tedious prior separation. For routine calibration and calculation of the ‘capacity to detect’, the robust regression method least median squares (LMS) has been proposed.     

Direct and simultaneous spectrofluorometric determination of naproxen and salicylate in human serum assisted by chemometric analysis

A direct method for the simultaneous determination of naproxen and salicylate in human serum is reported, based on a combination of spectrofluorometric measurements with two multivariate calibration techniques: partial least-squares (PLS-1) and the novel net analyte preprocessing (NAP). The method is rapid, selective and sensitive, and is based on the measurement of the fluorescence spectra of NH₃ alkalinized whole human sera at the excitation wavelength of 315 nm. It can be applied within the ranges of concentrations 50-200 ng ml⁻¹ for naproxen and 100-300 ng ml⁻¹ for salicylate. The employed chemometric techniques have been compared on the basis of the statistical indicators for calibration and validation. Reproducibility and interference studies in abnormal sera have also been carried out.     

PLS Regression in the Spectrophotometric Data for the Simultaneous Determination of Levodopa and Carbidopa in Pharmaceutical Preparations by Using an Enzymatic Stopped‐Flow FIA Technique

Abstract

An enzymatic stopped‐flow‐injection analysis is proposed for simultaneous determination of levodopa and carbidopa in pharmaceutical preparations. The dopaquinones obtained after the oxidation catalized by the enzyme were measured by spectrophotometric method. A reduced calibration matrix based on a central composite experimental design was built and Partial Least Squares (PLS) was applied on the spectral data after reaction with the enzyme. The LOD was 0.015 and 0.0028 mg ml^?1, respectively and the sample throughput was 22.5 h^?1. The proposed method was applied to pharmaceutical preparations and the results are in close agreement with pharmacopeial method. The recovery study and results were satisfactory.     

Assessment of dentifrice adulteration with diethylene glycol by means of ATR-FTIR spectroscopy and chemometrics

A direct and fast method for determination of the adulterant diethylene glycol (DEG) in toothpaste and gel dentifrices combining attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy with partial least squares (PLS) regression has been proposed. Considering the high heterogeneity of dentifrices available in the market, the possibility of reducing the number of calibration samples for PLS was evaluated. Similar prediction performance was achieved by both employing a large calibration set of 20 dentifrices spiked with different amounts of DEG and a reduced calibration set of seven ones selected by means of hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA). The feasibility of using the simple calibration model to predict DEG adulteration in a wide variety of unknown dentifrice samples increases the applicability of the proposed method. With this approach, DEG was quantified with a root mean squared error of prediction value of 1.1% for a validation set of 40 different dentifrices containing DEG in the range 0–16% (w:w).     

Quantitative analysis of topical gels and ointments by FT-Raman spectroscopy

A method for quantitative determination of ibuprofen (IBU), naproxen (NAP), methyl salicylate (MES) and menthol (MNT) in commercial topical gels and ointments using partial least squares (PLS) models based on FT-Raman spectra is described. The calculated relative standard errors of prediction (RSEP) were found to be in the range of 2.1–3.2% for the calibration and validation data sets. Two commercial topical gels containing 5.0% of IBU and 10% of NAP (w/w), as well as one ointment containing 15% of MES and 10% of MNT (w/w) as active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), were successfully quantified using the developed models with recoveries in the 99.2–101.5% range. The proposed procedure can be used as a fast, reliable and economic method for the quantification of APIs in topical gels and ointments.     

A procedure for calibration transfer between near-infrared instruments--a worked example using a transmittance single tablet assay for piroxicam in intact tablets

A procedure was developed for different modes of calibration transfer in near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy, which included a method for the selection of a subset of samples appropriate for transfer. As a worked example, these guidelines were applied to the transfer of a multivariate calibration model, representing a validated NIR single tablet assay for the active within an intact pharmaceutical product, between three equivalent dispersive NIR transmission instruments. Transfer was first evaluated between two instruments, representing the situation where both were available during calibration development. A spectral correction method alone, applied to the transfer instrument, was not sufficient to facilitate transfer, with further optimisation of the calibration model using a novel wavelength selection algorithm necessary to remove regions of the spectral range that resulted in skewed predictions on the second instrument. Through this approach, a single calibration model was found to be equally accurate and precise on the two instruments. A procedure, using the Kennard-Stone algorithm, is described for determining a reduced number of samples as a transfer set using only the spectral information from the original instrument. The purpose of the subset was to permit transfer to a new instrument where that instrument was not available until after calibration development or where it was undesirable to re-measure the full sample set (i.e. due to excessive reference chemistry). Utilising the transfer set, transfer to a third instrument was evaluated. The calibration model, optimised between the first two instruments, was not directly applicable for the third instrument, with further wavelength selection required to remove a small region of spectral data. On completion, using a full statistical evaluation, a single calibration model was found to be equally accurate and precise on all three instruments.     

Net analyte signal-based simultaneous determination of antazoline and naphazoline using wavelength region selection by experimental design-neural networks

Net analyte signal (NAS)-based multivariate calibration methods were employed for simultaneous determination of anthazoline and naphazoline. The NAS vectors calculated from the absorbance data of the drugs mixture were used as input for classical least squares (CLS), principal component and partial least squares regression PCR and PLS methods. A wavelength selection strategy was used to find the best wavelength region for each drug separately. As a new procedure, we proposed an experimental design-neural network strategy for wavelength region optimization. By use of a full factorial design method, some different wavelength regions were selected by taking into account different spectral parameters including the starting wavelength, the ending wavelength and the wavelength interval. The performance of all the multivariate calibration methods, in all selected wavelength regions for both drugs, was evaluated by calculating a fitness function based on the root mean square error of calibration and validation. A three-layered feed-forward artificial neural network (ANN) model with back-propagation learning algorithm was employed to model the nonlinear relationship between the spectral parameters and fitness of each regression method. From the resulted ANN models, the spectral regions in which lowest fitness could be obtained were chosen. Comparison of the results revealed that the net NAS-PLS resulted in lower prediction error than the other models. The proposed NAS-based calibration method was successfully applied to the simultaneous analyses of anthazoline and naphazoline in a commercial eye drop sample.     

Determination of ethanol in fuel ethanol and beverages by Fourier transform (FT)-near infrared and FT-Raman spectrometries

Fourier transform-near infrared (FT-NIR) and FT-Raman spectrometries have been used to design partial least squares (PLS) calibration models for the determination of the ethanol content of ethanol fuel and alcoholic beverages. In the FT-NIR measurements the spectra were obtained using air as reference, and the spectral region for PLS modeling were selected based on the spectral distribution of the relative standard deviation in concentration. In the FT-Raman measurements hexachloro-1,3-butadiene (HCBD) has been used as an external standard. In the PLS/FT-NIR modeling for ethanol fuel analysis 50 ethanol fuel standards (84.9-100% (w/w)) were used (25 in the calibration, 25 in the validation). In the PLS/FT-Raman modeling 25 standards were used (13 in the calibration, 12 in the validation). The PLS/FT-NIR and FT-Raman models for beverage analysis made use of 24 standards (0-100% (v/v)). Twelve of them contained sugars (1-5% (w/w)), one-half was used in the calibration and the other half in the validation. Different spectral pre-processing were used in the PLS modeling, depending on the type of sample investigated. In the ethanol fuel analysis the FT-NIR pre-processing was a 17 points smoothed first derivative and for beverages no spectral pre-processing was used. The FT-Raman spectra were pre-processed by vector normalization in the ethanol fuel analysis and by a second derivative (17 points smoothing) in the beverage analysis. The PLS models were used in the analysis of real ethanol fuel and beverage samples. A t-test has shown that the FT-NIR model has an accuracy equivalent to that of the reference method (ASTM D4052) in the analysis of ethanol fuel, while in the analysis of beverages, the FT-Raman model presents an accuracy equivalent to the reference method. The limits of detection for NIR and Raman calibration models were 0.05 and 0.2% (w/w), respectively. It has also been shown that both techniques, present better results than gas chromatography (GC) in evaluating the ethanol content of beverages.     

Characterization and analysis of polymorphs by near-infrared spectrometry

The polymorphic purity of drug is of high pharmaceutical interest as it often dictates its bioavailability. In this work, we developed a rapid, efficient method for the characterization and determination of azithromycin polymorphs using near-infrared (NIR) spectrometry. The drug is characterized by comparison with a NIR spectral library that permits one to determine whether the amount of crystalline form contained in an amorphous azithromycin sample exceeds allowed levels. While the crystalline form is a hydrate, the amorphous form is anhydrous; however, the absorption of a small amount of moisture by the drug reduces the spectral differences between the two forms and hinders the establishment of an accurate calibration model. In this work, we determined the crystalline form by using a partial least-squares regression model (PLS1) for calibration and examined the influence of factors such as spectral treatment, wavelength range and moisture content on the results. The high correlation between the spectra for the two forms enabled the development of a PLS2 model for determining both species jointly. The proposed method was validated with a view to its subsequent use in the analytical control of azithromycin.     

Performance evaluation of a rapid-scanning quadrupole mass spectrometer in the comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography analysis of pesticides in water

The performance of a novel rapid-scanning (20,000 amu/s) quadrupole mass spectrometer (qMS) has been evaluated in the comprehensive 2-D gas chromatography (GC×GC) analysis of pesticides contained in water. Analyte extraction was performed by using direct solid-phase microextraction (SPME). The MS system was operated using a rather wide m/z 50-450 mass range and a 33 Hz spectral production rate, a frequency which was found sufficient for reliable quantification. The qMS performance was evaluated considering: (i) number of data points per peak, (ii) mass spectral quality, (iii) extent of peak skewing, and (iv) consistency of retention times. Seven-point calibration curves (external calibration) were constructed for 28 pesticides over the limit of quantification range of 100 μg/L (1, 5, 10, 25, 50, and 100 μg/L). The solid-phase microextraction-GC×GC-qMS method was validated by calculating limits of detection and quantification, intraday peak area precision, accuracy, and intraday retention-time precision. A series of tap water samples were subjected to analysis, fortunately giving negative results.