Development and Validation of a Stability-Indicating LC Method for Determination of Bexarotene in Softgel Dosage Formulation

This study focuses on a novel liquid chromatographic approach that has been developed and approved for the quantitative determination of bexarotene (BXT), its potential impurities in drug substances and drug products. Chromatographic separation was developed on a Symmetry C₈ (150 × 4.6) mm 5-µm column with a mobile phase containing an isocratic mixture of acetonitrile:DI water:glacial acetic acid (650:350:7.5) v/v/v at a flow rate of 1.2 mL min^?1, and quantitation was carried out using ultraviolet detection at 262 nm for BXT and 290 nm for BHA with a column temperature of 35 °C. The resolution among butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), BXT and its process-related impurity-A was found to be greater than 5. Regression analysis confers an R value (correlation coefficient) higher than 0.998 for BHA, BXT and impurity-A. The detection level for BXT impurities was found at a level below 0.03% (0.18 µg mL^?1). The inter- and intra-day precisions for BHA, BXT and impurities were evaluated and found to have a %RSD of less than 3.0.     

Drying of colloidal solutions of fluoroalkyl oligomers

The change in the supramolecular structure upon drying (solvent removal) of colloidal solutions of fluoroalkyl oligomers at atmospheric pressure has been studied using atomic force microscopy. In an initial colloidal solution, micrometer-sized particles of the dense phase consist of randomly oriented oligomers in the form of rigid rods of a 3–5 nm length forming a porous framework filled with solvent molecules, which solvate the oligomer chains. The drying-induced capillary pressure, which in nanosized pores is of the same order of magnitude as the solvation energy, leads to framework deformation, collapse of the pores, and the formation of lamellar and dendritic structures on a 50–100 nm scale. The ordering of these structures (formation of blocks of parallel oriented fibers typical of a fluoroplastic) increases as the heat-treatment temperature and the drying rate are increased, increasing the roughness of the surface (ratio of real to smooth surface area) and its hydrophobicity.     

Visualization of supramolecular framework of perfluorinated-oligomer colloid particles by supercritical drying

Aerogels of the tetrafluoroethylene radical polymerization products H(C₂F₄)_nR, where R is the radical formed by the abstraction of a hydrogen atom from a solvent molecule, have been obtained by replacing the solvent with supercritical CO₂ and its subsequent rapid evaporation. According to the data of scanning electron and atomic force microscopy, the aerogel consists of loosely bound particles of 1–3 μm in diameter, which is two to three times that of colloid particles in the initial solution, where the particles consist of an oligomer framework filled with solvent molecules. The internal structure of the framework is manifested in the surface topography with a roughness coefficient of 1.6–1.8. High roughness leads to the formation of ultrahydrophobic coatings with contact angles of >160°. A model of supercritical drying in which the solvent is removed from the colloidal particles without alteration of the supramolecular structure is discussed.     

Sulfated choline ionic liquid-catalyzed acetamide synthesis by grindstone method

Sulfated choline ionic liquid (SCIL) has been found to be an efficient solid acid IL catalyst for the protection of amine groups with acetic anhydride under solvent-free grindstone conditions. The attractive features of this new catalytic methodology include its sustainability, facile work-up procedure, economic viability, and biodegradability. The SCIL catalyst was characterized using infrared spectroscopy, wide-angle X-ray scattering analysis, and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The catalyst could be reused six times without significant loss in activity. Furthermore, no chromatographic separations were needed to obtain the desired products.