LC Method for the Determination of NPC1161, Primaquine and their Metabolites in Various Biological Systems

NPC1161 is an 8-aminoquinoline anti-malarial analog, which has a favorable toxicity profile relative to primaquine and other 8-aminoquinolines. High-performance liquid chromatographic method was developed for the determination of NPC1161, primaquine and their metabolites in biological samples in order to facilitate metabolic and pharmacokinetic studies. The method includes extraction of the unchanged drugs and their metabolites from the biological samples. Separation was achieved by reversed-phase chromatography on a C18 column with water–acetonitrile both containing 0.025% trifluoroacetic acid as the mobile phase. Recoveries of NPC1161 and its metabolites were greater than 60% in various biological samples tested. No interference with the components of the biological material was observed. The detector response was linear with concentrations of NPC1161 and its metabolites (desalkyl NPC1161 and carboxy NPC1161) in the ranges from 0.5 to 80.0, 0.4–60.0 and 0.4–70.0 μg mL⁻¹, respectively. A mass spectrometry coupled with electrospray ionization (ESI) interface method is described for the identification of NPC1161 and its metabolites in biological samples. This method involved the use of the [M + H]⁺ions of NPC1161, C3 analog (internal std. for the assay), desalkyl NPC1161 and carboxy NPC1161 at m/z 434, 406, 349 and 449 in the positive ion mode with extractive ion monitoring (EIM). This method will have an important application in pharmacokinetic studies of NPC1161 and in understanding the mechanism of metabolism of this novel 8-aminoquinoline analog in more detail.     

Development and Validation of a New Analytical Method for the Determination of Related Components in Tolterodine Tartarate Using LC

A novel liquid chromatographic method has been developed, and validated for the determination of tolterodine tartarate, for its potential three impurities in drug substances and drug products. Efficient chromatographic separation was achieved on a C8 stationary phase (150 × 4.6 mm, 3.5 μm particles) with a simple mobile phase combination delivered in an isocratic mode at a flow rate of 0.8 mL min^?1 and quantitation was carried out using ultraviolet detection. Microwave assisted degradation procedure was employed for stress testing studies in addition to the conventional way of a refluxing method. The results of both studies were compared. In the developed LC method, the resolution between tolterodine and its three potential impurities was found to be greater than 2.0. Regression analysis shows an r value (correlation coefficient) greater than 0.999 for tolterodine and for its three impurities. This method was capable to detect all three impurities of tolterodine at a level below 0.0038% with respect to a test concentration of 0.5 mg mL^?1 for a 10 μL injection volume. The inter- and intra-day precisions for all three impurities and for tolterodine were found to be within 1.1% RSD at its specification level. The method has shown good, consistent recoveries for tolterodine (98.9–101.6%) and for its three impurities (94.5–103.0%). The test solution was found to be stable in the diluent for 48 h. The drug was subjected to stress conditions of hydrolysis, oxidation, photolysis and thermal degradation, as prescribed by ICH. Degradation was found to occur in alkaline stress condition, while the drug was stable to water hydrolysis, acid hydrolysis, oxidative stress, photolytic and thermal stress. The assay of stressed samples was calculated against a qualified reference standard and the mass balance was found close to 99.5%. Microwave degradations were very fast and comparable to the conventional way of the refluxing method. Robustness studies were carried out and suggested that system suitability parameters were unaffected by small changes in critical factors. The validated method was successfully applied for the determination of tolterodine tartarate in drug substances and drug products.     

Stress Degradation Studies on Aripiprazole and Development of a Validated Stability Indicating LC Method

The present paper describes the development of a stability indicating reversed phase column liquid chromatographic method for aripiprazole in the presence of its impurities and degradation products generated from forced decomposition studies. The drug substance was subjected to stress conditions of aqueous hydrolysis, oxidative, photolytic and thermal stress degradation. The degradation of aripiprazole was observed under acid hydrolysis and peroxide. The drug was found to be stable to other stress conditions attempted. Successful separation of the drug from the synthetic impurities and degradation products formed under stress conditions was achieved on an Inertsil phenyl column using a mixture of 0.2% trifluoroacetic acid and acetonitrile (55:45, v/v). The developed LC method was validated with respect to linearity, accuracy, precision, specificity and robustness. The assay method was found linear in the range of 25–200 μg mL^?1 with a correlation coefficient of 0.9999 and the linearity of the impurities were established from LOQ to 0.3%. Recoveries of the assay and impurities were found between 97.2 and 104.6%. The developed LC method for the related substances and assay determination of aripiprazole can be used to evaluate the quality of regular production samples. It can also be used to test the stability samples of aripiprazole. To the best of our knowledge, the validated stability indicating LC method which separates all the impurities disclosed in this investigation was not published elsewhere.     

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.     

Determination of rosuvastatin 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 determination of rosuvastatin Ca in the presence of its degradation products. The method was developed and optimized by analyzing the forcefully degraded samples. Degradation of the drug was done at various pH values. Moreover, the drug was degraded under oxidative, photolytic, and thermal stress conditions. Mass balance between assay values of degraded samples and generated impurities was found to be satisfactory. The proposed method was able to resolve all of the possible degradation products formed during the stress study. The developed method was successfully applied for an accelerated stability study of the tablet formulation. The major impurities generated during the accelerated stability study of the tablet formulation were matches with those of the forced degradation study. The developed method was validated for determination of rosuvastatin Ca, and the method was found to be equally applicable to study the impurities formed during routine and forced degradation of rosuvastatin Ca.     

Development and validation of a reversed-phase ultra-performance liquid chromatographic method for assay of lacidipine and related substances

A simple isocratic, RP-ultra-performance LC method was developed and validated for the determination of lacidipine, three process impurities formed during synthesis, and three degradation products present in drug substance and the drug product. An efficient chromatographic separation was achieved on an Acquity BEH C18 column using pH 4.5 ammonium acetate-acetic acid buffer-methanol (70 + 30, v/v) mobile phase. The monitoring wavelength was 240 nm, and the flow rate 0.25 mL/min. Forced degradation studies using acid, alkali, peroxide, water, heat, and light were conducted, and all impurities were separated. The method was validated successfully for specificity, precision, linearity, accuracy, LOD, LOQ, and robustness, according to International Conference on Harmonization guidelines. The linearity of the calibration curve for lacidipine and each impurity was found to be very good (r2 > 0.999). This method is shown to be suitable for analysis of lacidipine to evaluate the quality of drug substance and a drug product.     

A Stability-Indicating LC Method for Rimonabant

A simple, inexpensive and rapid isocratic LC method has been developed for the quantative determination of Rimonabant, an anti-obesity drug. The method can also be employed for the determination of Rimonabant and its impurities in the bulk drug. Degradation studies were performed on the bulk drug by heating to 60 °C, exposure to UV light at 254 nm, acid (0.5 N hydrochloric acid), base (0.5 N sodium hydroxide) and aqueous hydrolysis and oxidation with 3.0% v/v hydrogen peroxide. Considerable degradation was observed under oxidation conditions. Good resolution between the peaks corresponding to impurities produced during synthesis, degradation products and the analyte was achieved on a Phenomenex Gemini C18 LC column using a mobile phase consisting of a mixture of aqueous potassium dihydrogen phosphate (pH 3.0) and acetonitrile. The degradation samples were assayed against the reference standard of Rimonabant and the mass balance in each case was close to 99.5%. Validation of the method was carried out as per ICH requirements.     

MS2/TOF and LC-MS/TOF studies on toremifene to characterize its forced degradation products

The present study was designed to characterize the possible degradation products of toremifene under varied conditions as prescribed by ICH guidelines Q1A(R2). The forced degradation studies were conducted on toremifene citrate under the conditions of hydrolysis (acidic, basic and neutral), photolysis, oxidation and dry heat. The drug was found unstable to photolysis and hydrolysis in water and acidic media but stable to alkaline hydrolysis, peroxide oxidation and thermal degradation. In total fifteen degradation products (I-XV) were formed, which were resolved from each other and the drug on a C-18 column employing an isocratic elution method. A complete mass fragmentation pattern of the drug was established with the help of LC/ESI-MS/TOF to assist characterization of the degradation products. Of the fifteen products, six products III, IV, VII, VIII, XIV and XV were detected in LC-MS. The molecular masses of III, IV, VII and VIII were found to be the same i.e., 387, while those of XIV and XV were 389 and 403, respectively. Structures of these products were elucidated through comparison of their mass fragmentation patterns with the drug, which were proposed on the basis of accurate masses of the parent and fragment ions. These were characterized as (Z)-2-(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl)-4-(4-hydroxy-1,2-diphenylbut-1-enyl)phenol (III), (E)-2-(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl)-4-(4-hydroxy-1,2-diphenylbut-1-enyl)phenol (IV), (E)-4-(4-(2-(dimethylamino)ethoxy)phenyl)-3,4-diphenylbut-3-en-1-ol (VII), (Z)-4-(4-(2-(dimethylamino)ethoxy)phenyl)-3,4-diphenylbut-3-en-1-ol (VIII), 2-(4-(10-(2-chloroethyl)phenanthren-9-yl)phenoxy)-N-methylethanamine (XIV), and 2-(4-(10-(2-chloroethyl)phenanthren-9-yl)phenoxy)-N,N-dimethylethanamine (XV). Finally, a most plausible mechanistic explanation for degradation of the drug in different chemical environments is also proposed. The results of the study disclose six new degradation related impurities of the drug.     

Development and validation of a stability-indicating RP-HPLC method for determination of atomoxetine hydrochloride in tablets

This paper describes the development of a stability-indicating RP-HPLC method for the determination of atomoxetine hydrochloride (ATX) in the presence of its degradation products generated from forced decomposition studies. The drug substance was subjected to stress conditions of acid, base, oxidation, wet heat, dry heat, and photodegradation. In stability tests, the drug was susceptible to acid, base, oxidation, and dry and wet heat degradation. It was found to be stable under the photolytic conditions tested. The drug was successfully separated from the degradation products formed under stress conditions on a Phenomenex C18 column (250 x 4.6 mm id, 5 microm particle size) by using acetonitrile-methanol-0.032 M ammonium acetate (55 + 05 + 40, v/v/v) as the mobile phase at 1.0 mL/min and 40 degrees C. Photodiode array detection at 275 nm was used for quantitation after RP-HPLC over the concentration range of 0.5-5 microg/mL with a mean recovery of 100.8 +/- 0.4% for ATX. Statistical analysis demonstrated that the method is repeatable, specific, and accurate for the estimation of ATX. Because the method effectively separates the drug from its degradation products, it can be used as a stability-indicating method.     

GC-MS Analysis of the 8-Aminoquinoline Antimalarial [NPC1161] and its Carboxy Metabolite in Plasma and Red Blood Cells of Primates

This study describes a novel and simple GC-MS procedure developed for the determination of the concentration of the 8-aminoquinoline antimalarial agent NPC1161 and its carboxy metabolite in plasma and red blood cells. Preliminary pharmacokinetic data were generated for the two enantiomers of NPC1161 in monkeys. NPC1161, the internal standard, and desalkyl metabolite were converted to their mono-heptafluorobutyrates, while the carboxy metabolite underwent an intramolecular cyclization to give a lactam product. The calibration curves were linear ranging from 10 to 2,000 ng mL⁻¹. The developed GC-MS method is sensitive and reproducible for measuring blood level of this antimalarial drug.     

Ultraviolet-photodiode array and high-performance liquid chromatographic/mass spectrometric studies on forced degradation behavior of glibenclamide and development of a validated stability-indicating method

A forced degradation study on glibenclamide was performed under conditions of hydrolysis, oxidation, dry heat, and photolysis and a high-performance column liquid chromatographic-ultraviolet (HPLC-UV) method was developed to study degradation behavior of the drug under the forced conditions. The degradation products formed under different forced conditions were characterized through isolation and subsequent infrared/nuclear magnetic resonance/mass spectral analyses, or through HPLC/mass spectrometric (HPLC/MS) studies. The drug degraded in 0.1 M HCI and water at 85 degrees C to a major degradation product, 5-chloro-2-methoxy-N-2-(4-sulfamoylphenyl)ethyl]benzamide (III), and to a minor product, 1-cyclohexyl-3-[[4-(2-aminoethyl)-phenyl]sulfonyl]urea (IV). Upon prolonged heating in the acid, the minor product IV disappeared, resulting in formation of 5-chloro-2-methoxy-benzoic acid (II) and an unidentified product (I). Heating of the drug in 0.1 M NaOH at 85 degrees C yielded II and IV as the major products and I and III as the minor products. The drug and the degradation products formed under different conditions were optimally resolved on a C18 column using ammonium acetate buffer (0.025 M, pH 3.5)-acetonitrile (45 + 55) mobile phase at a flow rate of 0.6 mL/min, with detection at 230 nm. The method was validated for linearity, precision, accuracy, and specificity. Limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantitation (LOQ) values were also determined. The method could be successfully applied for simultaneous quantification of glibenclamide and the major product, III. The response of the method was linear in a narrow [0.4-10 micro/mL, correlation coefficient (r2) = 0.9982] and a wide (0.4-500 microg/mL, r2 = 0.9993) concentration range for glibenclamide, and in the concentration range of 0.025-50 microg/mL (r2 = 0.9998) for III. The method proved to be precise and accurate for both glibenclamide and III. It was specific for the drug and also selective for each degradation product, and LOQ values for the drug were 0.1 and 0.4 microg/mL, whereas those for III were 0.010 and 0.025 microg/mL, respectively.     

Development and validation of a stability-indicating LC method for the assay of lodenafil carbonate in tablets

A stability-indicating liquid chromatographic method has been developed for the quantitative determination of lodenafil carbonate in tablets. The method employs a Synergi Fusion C18 column (250 × 4.6 mm, i.d., 4 μm particle size), with mobile phase consisting of a mixture of methanol-acetic acid 0.1% pH 4.0 (65:35, v/v) and UV detection at 290 nm, using a photodiode array detector. A linear response (r = 0.9999) was observed in the range of 10-80 μg/mL. The method showed good recoveries (average 100.3%) and also intra and inter-day precision (RSD < 2.0%). Validation parameters as specificity and robustness were also determined. Specificity analysis showed that no impurities or degradation products were co-eluting with the lodenafil carbonate peak. The method was found to be stability-indicating and due to its simplicity and accuracy can be applied for routine quality control analysis of lodenafil carbonate in tablets.     

A Stability Indicating LC Method for Amtolmetin Guacyl

A simple, sensitive gradient RP-LC assay method has been developed for the quantitative determination of amtolmetin guacyl in bulk drug, used as anti-inflammatory drug. The developed method is also applicable for related substances determination. Efficient chromatographic separation was achieved on a C18 stationary phase with simple mobile phase combination delivered in a gradient mode and quantification was carried out using ultraviolet detection at 313 nm at a flow rate of 1.0 mL min^?1. In the developed LC method the resolution between Amtolmetin Guacyl and its three potential impurities was found to be greater than 2.0. Regression analysis shows an r value (correlation coefficient) greater than 0.99 for amtolmetin guacyl and its three impurities. This method was capable to detect all three impurities of amtolmetin guacyl at a level of 0.002% with respect to test concentration of 0.5 mg mL^?1 for a 10 μL injection volume. The inter- and intra-day precision values for all three impurities and for amtolmetin guacyl was found to be within 2.0% RSD at its specification level. The method has shown good and consistent recoveries for amtolmetin guacyl (99.2–101.5%) and its three impurities (94.5–104.8%). The test solution was found to be stable in diluent for 48 h. The drug was subjected to stress conditions of hydrolysis, oxidation, photolysis and thermal degradation. Considerable degradation was found to occur in oxidative stress conditions. The stress samples were assayed against a qualified reference standard and the mass balance was found close to 99.6%. The developed RP-LC method was validated with respect to linearity, accuracy, precision and robustness.     

Development and validation of a stability-indicating liquid chromatographic method for determination of emtricitabine and related impurities in drug substance

A novel stability-indicating high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method was developed and validated for assay and determination of impurities of emtricitabine in drug substance. Emtricitabine was found to be degraded under acidic, alkaline, and oxidative stress conditions and to be more labile under oxidative conditions. The drug proved to be stable to dry heat and photolytic degradation. Resolution of major and minor degradation impurities was achieved on an Intersil ODS-3V column utilizing 10 mM sodium phosphate buffer and methanol (85:15) as mobile phase. Detection was at 280 nm. Validation studies were performed as per ICH recommended conditions. The developed method was found to be linear, accurate, specific, selective, precise, and robust.     

Simultaneous separation and determination of process-related substances and degradation products of venlafaxine by reversed-phase HPLC

A simple and rapid gradient RP HPLC method for simultaneous separation and determination of venlafaxine and its related substances in bulk drugs and pharmaceutical formulations has been developed. As many as four process impurities and one degradation product of venlafaxine have been separated on a Kromasil KR100-5C18 (4.6 mm x 250 mm; particle size 5 microm) column with gradient elution using 0.3% diethylamine buffer (pH 3.0) and ACN/methanol (90:10 v/v) as a mobile phase. The column was maintained at 40 degrees C and the eluents were monitored with photo diode array detection at 225 nm. The chromatographic behaviour of all the compounds was examined under variable compositions of different solvents, temperatures, buffer concentrations and pH. The method was validated in terms of accuracy, precision and linearity as per ICH guidelines. The inter- and intraday assay precision was < 4.02% (%RSD) and the recoveries were in the range of 96.19-101.14% with %RSD < 1.15%. The correlation coefficients (r2) for calibration curves of venlafaxine as well as impurities were in the range of 0.9942-0.9999. The proposed RP-LC method was successfully applied to the analysis of commercial formulations and the recoveries of venlafaxine were in the range of 99.32-100.67 with %RSD <0.58%. The method could be of use not only for rapid and routine evaluation of the quality of venlafaxine in bulk drug manufacturing units but also for the detection of its impurities in pharmaceutical formulations. Forced degradation of venlafaxine was carried out under thermal, photo, acidic, basic and peroxide conditions and the acid degradation products were characterized by ESI-MS/MS, 1H NMR and FT-IR spectral data.     

Development and Validation of a New Analytical Method for the Determination of Related Components and Assay of Ranolazine in Bulk Drug and Pharmaceutical Dosage Forms by LC

A novel liquid chromatographic method has been developed and validated for the determination of ranolazine, its potential four impurities in drug substance and drug products. Efficient chromatographic separation was achieved on a C18 stationary phase (150 × 4.6 mm, 3.0 microns particles) with simple mobile phase combination delivered in gradient mode at a flow rate of 1.0 mL min^?1 at 210 nm. In the developed method, the resolution between ranolazine and its four potential impurities was found to be greater than 2.0. Regression analysis shows an r value (correlation coefficient) greater than 0.999 for ranolazine and for its four impurities. This method was capable to detect all four impurities of ranolazine at a level below 0.004% with respect to test concentration of 1.0 mg mL^?1 for a 10 μL injection volume. The method has shown good, consistent recoveries for ranolazine (98.8–101.1%) and for its four impurities (97.2–100.3). The test solution was found to be stable in the diluent for 48 h. The drug was subjected to stress conditions. The mass balance was found close to 99.5%.     

Forced Degradation Study to Develop and Validate Stability-Indicating RP-LC for Quantification of Ropinirole Hydrochloride in Its Modified Release Tablets

A forced degradation study on ropinirole hydrochloride in bulk and in its modified release tablets was conducted under the conditions of hydrolysis, oxidation and photolysis in order to develop an isocratic stability-indicating LC-UV method for quantification of the drug in tablets. An impurity peak in standard solution was found to increase under acidic and neutral hydrolytic conditions while another degradation product was formed under alkaline condition. The drug and its degradation products were optimally resolved on a Hypersil C₁₈ column with mobile phase composed of diammonium hydrogen orthophosphate (0.05 M; pH 7.2), tetrahydrofuran and methanol (80:15:5% v/v) at a flow rate of 1.0 mL min^?1 at 30 °C using 250 nm as detection wavelength. The method was linear in the range of 0.05–50 μg mL^?1 drug concentrations. The %RSD of inter- and intra-day precision studies was <1. The system suitability parameters remained unaffected during quantification of the drug on three different LC systems. Excellent recoveries (101.59–102.28%) proved that the method was sufficiently accurate. The LOD and LOQ were found to be 0.012 and 0.040 μg mL^?1, respectively. Degradation behaviour of the drug in both bulk and tablets was similar. The drug was very unstable to hydrolytic conditions but stable to oxidative and photolytic conditions. The method can be used for rapid and accurate quantification of ropinirole hydrochloride in tablets during stability testing. Based on chemical reactivity of ropinirole in different media, the degradation products were suspected to be different from the known impurities of the drug.     

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.     

Ultra-High Performance Method on Superficially Porous Stationary Phase for the Determination of Related Substances in Pitavastatin Calcium by HPLC

A simple reverse-phase method for the selective quantification of pitavastatin calcium (PIT) and its related substances was developed. The method demonstrated an excellent separation between PIT and each of 15 impurities (including its isomers and degradants) within a short run time of 12 min by HPLC. A rapid resolution similar to that of UHPLC was achieved using high flow rate on superficially porous C18 stationary phase. A synergistic combination of quality by design approach and use of a superficially porous column delivered a HPLC method with ultra-high performance. Forced degradation studies proved the method to be highly specific (mass balance > 98 %) and the structures of major degradation products were proposed based on LC–MS analysis. The results of validation proved the method to be highly precise (%RSD < 4), accurate (recoveries in range of 100 ± 7 %), linear (r ² > 0.999) and sensitive (LOQ ≤ 0.02 % and LOD ≤ 0.005 %) for all the impurities and drug. Use of multivariate analysis helped to incorporate high robustness in the method. The method is valuable for quantification of PIT and its related substances in both drug substance and oral solid dosage form.