Development of a New Analytical Method for Determination of Related Components in Nateglinide

An isocratic reverse phase liquid chromatographic (RP-LC) assay method has been developed for the quantitative determination of nateglinide and its related components namely imp-1 and imp-2 in bulk drug and in pharmaceutical dosage form, used for the treatment of type II diabetes mellitus. The developed method is stability indicating and also can be used for stability testing. The chromatographic separation was achieved on C-8, 150 × 4.6 mm, 3.5 μm stationary phase. The LC method employs solution A as mobile phase. Solution A contains a mixture of phosphate buffer pH 3.0: acetonitrile (50:50 v/v). The flow rate was 1.0 mL min⁻¹ and the detection wavelength was 210 nm. In the developed LC method the resolution between nateglinide and its potential impurities namely imp-1 and imp-2 was found to be greater than 5.0. The drug was subjected to stress conditions of hydrolysis, oxidation, photolysis and thermal degradation. Considerable degradation was found to occur in acid medium, alkaline medium and oxidative stress conditions. The stress samples were assayed against a qualified reference standard and the mass balance was found close to 99.2%. The developed RP-LC method was validated with respect to linearity, accuracy, precision and robustness.