Quality-by-design-based development and validation of a stability-indicating UPLC method for quantification of teriflunomide in the presence of degradation products and its application to in-vitro dissolution

A systematic design-of-experiments was performed by applying quality-by-design concepts to determine design space for rapid quantification of teriflunomide by the ultraperformance liquid chromatography (UPLC) method in the presence of degradation products. Response surface and central composite quadratic were used for statistical evaluation of experimental data using a Design-Expert software. The response variables such as resolution, retention time, and peak tailing were analyzed statistically for the screening of suitable chromatographic conditions. During this process, various plots such as perturbation, contour, 3D, and design space were studied. The method was developed through UPLC BEH C18 2.1?×?100?mm, 1.7-µ column, mobile phase comprised of buffer (5?mM K₂HPO₄ containing 0.1% triethylamine, pH 6.8), and acetonitrile (40:60 v/v), the flow rate of 0.5?mL?min^?1 and UV detection at 250?nm. The method was developed with a short run time of 1?min. Forced degradation studies revealed that the method was stability-indicating, suitable for both assay and in-vitro dissolution of a drug product. The method was found to be linear in the range of 28–84?µg?mL^?1, 2.8–22.7?µg?mL^?1 with a correlation coefficient of 0.9999 and 1.000 for assay and dissolution, respectively. The recovery values were found in the range of 100.1–101.7%. The method was validated according to ICH guidelines.