Thermal Behavior of Paracetamol-Polymeric Excipients Mixtures

The thermal behavior of binary mixtures of paracetamol and a polymeric excipient (microcrystalline cellulose, hydroxypropylmethylcellulose and cross-linked poly(vinylpyrrolidone)) was investigated. The physical mixtures, ranging from 50 to 90% by mass of drug, were submitted to a heating-cooling-heating program in the 35–180°C temperature range. Solid-state analysis was performed by means of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), hot stage microscopy (HSM), micro-Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (MFTIR), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The polymeric excipients were found to address in a reproducible manner the recrystallization of molten paracetamol within the binary mixture into Form II or Form III. The degree of crystallinity of paracetamol in the binary mixtures, evaluated from fusion enthalpies during the first and second heating scans, was influenced by the composition of the mixture, the nature of the excipient and the thermal history. In particular, DSC on mixtures with cross-linked poly(vinylpyrrolidone) and hydroxypropylmethylcellulose with drug contents below 65 and75%, respectively, evidenced the presence only of amorphous paracetamol after the cooling phase. Microcrystalline cellulose was very effective in directing the recrystallization of molten paracetamol as Form II. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Analysis of cholesterol oxidation products by Fast gas chromatography/mass spectrometry

The aim of the present study was to set‐up a Fast gas chromatography/mass spectrometry method for the analysis of cholesterol oxidation products (COPs). A silylated mixture of seven oxysterol standards was injected into a Fast GC/MS system. A capillary GC column (10 m×0.1 mm internal diameter×0.1 μm film thickness) coated with 95% dimethyl‐ and 5% diphenyl‐polysiloxane, was used. The method gave a fast (total analysis time=3.5 min) and satisfactory resolution (R>1.2) of the COPs standards, with a good repeatability and sensitivity, similar to those of conventional GC/MS; recoveries were tested on mice liver. Fast GC/MS method suitability for COPs analysis in food was also tested on an oxidized sardine fillet, which had been previously saponified and purified by NH₂ solid‐phase extraction (SPE); a good repeatability and sensitivity was also obtained. The analytical performance of the Fast GC/MS method for the determination of COPs, together with the consequent significant reduction of the analysis time and consumables, demonstrates that Fast GC/MS represents a valid alternative to conventional GC/MS and evinces the great potential of such an analytical technique, which could be applied for both food and biological samples.