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Sparfloxacin is a quinolone carboxylic acid derivative that shows activity as an antimicrobial agent, against a wide range of Gram-negative and Gram-positive organisms. It is clinically useful for the treatment of urinary tract infections, respiratory tract infections and gynecological infections. In this study in vitro drug-drug interaction of sparfloxacin has been carried out with famotidine and ranitidine. For these studies a two-component spectrophotometric process has been developed for sparfloxacin assay in the presence of famotidine or ranitidine. The reproducibility of the method is within ±5%. The technique has been applied to the development of sparfloxacin in methanol. The interaction studies of sparfloxacin with ranitidine and famotidine were carried out in methanol and methanol: Water mixtures (30:70, v/v; 50:50, v/v) and the kinetics of sparfloxacin degradation were evaluated in the presence and absence of famotidine and ranitidine. The decrease in the rate of degradation of sparfloxacin in the presence of famotidine or ranitidine, compared to that of sparfloxacin alone, indicated the possibility of interaction between the sparfloxacin and famotidine or ranitidine. The Thin layer chromatography (TLC) of the degraded solution showed the presence of a degradation product of sparfloxacin. The studies show that complexation with famotidine or ranitidine may affect the bioavailability of sparfloxacin.

Importance: A publication reported that N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), a probable human carcinogen, was formed when ranitidine and nitrite were added to simulated gastric fluid. However, the nitrite concentrations used were greater than the range detected in acidic gastric fluid in prior clinical studies., Objective: To characterize NDMA formation following the addition of ranitidine to simulated gastric fluid using combinations of fluid volume, pH levels, and nitrite concentrations, including physiologic levels., Design, Setting, and Participants: One 150-mg ranitidine tablet was added to 50 or 250 mL of simulated gastric fluid with a range of nitrite concentrations from the upper range of physiologic (100 μmol/L) to higher concentrations (10 000 μmol/L) with a range of pH levels. NDMA amounts were assessed with a liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry method., Main Outcomes and Measures: NDMA detected in simulated gastric fluid 2 hours after adding ranitidine., Results: At a supraphysiologic nitrite concentration (ie, 10 000 μmol/L), the mean (SD) amount of NDMA detected in 50 mL simulated gastric fluid 2 hours after adding ranitidine increased from 222 (12) ng at pH 5 to 11 822 (434) ng at pH 1.2. Subsequent experiments with 50 mL of simulated gastric fluid at pH 1.2 with no added nitrite detected a mean (SD) of 22 (2) ng of NDMA, which is the background amount present in the ranitidine tablets. Similarly, at the upper range of physiologic nitrite (ie, 100 μmol/L) or at nitrite concentrations as much as 50-fold greater (1000 or 5000 μmol/L) only background mean (SD) amounts of NDMA were observed (21 [3] ng, 24 [2] ng, or 24 [3] ng, respectively). With 250 mL of simulated gastric fluid, no NDMA was detected at the upper physiologic range (100 μmol/L) or 10-fold physiologic (1000 μmol/L) nitrite concentrations, while NDMA was detected (mean [SD] level, 7353 [183] ng) at a 50-fold physiologic nitrite concentration (5000 μmol/L)., Conclusions and Relevance: In this in vitro study of ranitidine tablets added to simulated gastric fluid with different nitrite concentrations, ranitidine conversion to NDMA was not detected until nitrite was 5000 μmol/L, which is 50-fold greater than the upper range of physiologic gastric nitrite concentrations at acidic pH. These findings suggest that ranitidine is not converted to NDMA in gastric fluid at physiologic conditions.

A new method on RP-HPLC is devised and validated, as per ICH guidelines, for the synchronous estimation of cefpodoxime proxetil and H2-receptor antagonits that are Cimetidine, Famotidine and Ranitidine. The method is simple, accurate, expeditious, reproducible, robust and precise. Chromatography was done on a C 18 (250 x 4.6mm) column with methanol: water as mobile phae in the ratio of 70:30 (v/v), pumped at a flow rate of 1ml/min and pH was maintained using 85% ortho-phosphoric acid at 3. The λ max 240 nm was preferred for UV detection. A good linear relationship was attained, over the concentration ranges of 20-70 μg/ml and 5-30μg/ml, for cefpodoxime proxetil and H 2 blockers respectively, with a correlation coefficient of R= 0.9987 to 0.9992. The method was validated and found precised (i.e. intra day and interday analysis) with RSD <2%. LOD and LOQ observations were under 0.4806 to 2.6069μg/ml which proved the method to be sensitive. The method provided satisfactory results of robustness and reproducibility, when validated and applied successfully for analysis of dosage forms.

The lower detection limit for 2 distinct crystalline phases by 1 H magic-angle spinning (MAS) solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is investigated for a minority amount of cimetidine (anhydrous polymorph A) in a physical mixture with the anhydrous HCl salt of cimetidine. Specifically, 2-dimensional 1 H double-quantum (DQ) MAS NMR spectra of polymorph A and the anhydrous HCl salt constitute fingerprints for the presence of each of these solid forms. For solid-state NMR data recorded at a 1 H Larmor frequency of 850 MHz and a MAS frequency of 30 kHz on ∼10 mg of sample, it is shown that, by following the pair of cross-peaks at a 1 H DQ frequency of 7.4 + 11.6 = 19.0 ppm that are unique to polymorph A, the level of detection for polymorph A in a physical mixture with the anhydrous HCl salt is a concentration of 1% w/w., (Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

A comparative force degradation high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) method was developed and validated for some H2-receptor antagonists. The studied H2-receptor antagonists were ranitidine (RAN), nizatidine (NIZ) and famotidine (FAM). The degradation behaviors of the studied H2-receptor antagonists were studied under different stress conditions (hydrolytic, thermal and oxidative) conditions as well as storage conditions according to International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) recommendations. A stability-indicating HPTLC method was optimized in order to separate the analyte from the degradation products formed under various stress conditions. Full separation of the drugs from their degradation products was successfully achieved on an HPTLC precoated silica gel plates. Densitometric measurements were carried out using a Camag TLC Scanner III in the absorbance mode at 320 nm for RAN and NIZ, and 280 nm for FAM. The limits of detection and limits of quantitation range were 5.47-9.37 and 16.30-31.26 ng/band, respectively, for all investigated drugs. The validation studies were performed according to ICH requirements. The developed method was simple, rapid and reliable hence it could be applied for routine quality control analysis of the investigated H2-receptor antagonists in dosage forms. The kinetic behavior, degradation rate constants and half-lives of the degradation of the investigated drugs were studied and compared at different stress conditions. The present study provides, for the first time, a new vision to compare the degradation kinetics of H2-receptor antagonists at the same degradation procedures., (© The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

A new extraction medium was proposed for liquid-liquid extraction of the histamine H2 receptor antagonists ranitidine (RNT) and nizatidine (NZT). The ionic liquids with low vapor pressure and favorable solvating properties for a range of compounds such as 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate [C4mim][PF6] and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide [C4mim][Tf2N] were tested for isolation of analytes. The extraction parameters of RNT and NZT, namely, amount of ionic liquid, pH of sample solution, shaking and centrifugation time were optimized. The isolation processes were performed with 1 mL of the ionic liquids. The extracted samples (pH values near 4) were shaken at 1750 rpm. The influence of interfering substances on the efficiency of extraction process was also studied. Methods for the histamine H2 receptor antagonists (ranitidine and nizatidine) determination after their separation using imidazolium ionic liquids by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) combined with UV spectrophotometry were developed. The application of ionic liquids in extraction step allows for selective isolation of analytes from aqueous matrices and their preconcentration. The above methods were applied to the determination of RNT and NZT in environmental samples (river water and wastewater after treatment)., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

A sensitive and simple spectrofluorimetric method has been developed for the analysis of famotidine, from pharmaceutical preparations and biological fluids after derivatization with benzoin. The reaction was carried out in alkaline medium with measurement of fluorescence intensity at 446 nm with excitation wavelength at 286 nm. Linear calibration was obtained with 0.5-15 μg/ml with coefficient of determination (r(2)) 0.997. The factors affecting the fluorescence intensity were optimized. The pharmaceutical additives and amino acid did not interfere in the determination. The mean percentage recovery (n=4) calculated by standard addition from pharmaceutical preparation was 94.8-98.2% with relative standard deviation (RSD) 1.56-3.34% and recovery from deproteinized spiked serum and urine of healthy volunteers was 98.6-98.9% and 98.0-98.4% with RSD 0.34-0.84% and 0.29-0.87% respectively., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

A validated, simple, and sensitive fluorescence quenching method for the determination of ranitidine, nizatidine, and cimetidine in tablets and biological fluids is presented. This is the first single fluorescence method reported for the analysis of all three H(2) antagonists. The competitive reaction between the investigated drug and the palmatine probe for the occupancy of the cucurbit[7]uril (CB[7]) cavity was studied using spectrofluorometry. CB[7] was found to react with the probe to form a stable complex. The fluorescence intensity of the complex was also enhanced greatly. However, the addition of the drug dramatically quenched the fluorescence intensity of the complex. Accordingly, a new fluorescence quenching method for the determination of the studied drugs was established. The different experimental parameters affecting the fluorescence quenching intensity were studied carefully. At optimum reaction conditions, the rectilinear calibration graphs between the fluorescence quenching values (ΔF) and the medicament concentration were obtained in the concentration range of 0.04-1.9 μg mL(-1) for the investigated drugs. The limits of detection ranged from 0.013 to 0.030 μg mL(-1) at 495 nm using an excitation wavelength of 343 nm. The proposed method can be used for the determination of the three H(2) antagonists in raw materials, dosage forms and biological fluids.

A new non-aqueous capillary electrophoresis method is proposed for the separation and simultaneous determination of cimetidine, ranitidine, roxatidine, nizatidine and famotidine by using a 30-cm long × 75 µm i.d. fused silica capillary and UV detection at 214 nm. Using a temperature of 25°C, an applied voltage of 15 kV, and a background electrolyte consisting of methanol containing 10 mM ammonium acetate and 0.2% acetic acid allowed the analytes to be separated in less than 4 min. The limits of detection obtained ranged from 7 and 17 µg L(-1). The proposed method was successfully used to determine the analytes in pharmaceutical preparations and its results were checked against an HPLC method.

A simple, specific and accurate reverse phase liquid chromatographic method has been developed for the simultaneous determination of naproxen and ranitidine HCl. Both the drugs are official with British Pharmacopoeia 2007, but do not involve simultaneous determination of naproxen and ranitidine HCl. The separation was carried out using 4.6 × 250 mm Symmetry Shield TM RP 18 with a particle diameter of 5 µm and mobile phase containing 0.1M orthophosphoric acid: methanol (35:65, pH 3.1) in isocratic mode. The flow rate was 1.00 ml/min and effluent was monitored at 240 nm. The retention times (average) of ranitidine HCl and naproxen were 2.36 min and 12.39 min, respectively. The linearity for naproxen and ranitidine HCl was in the range of 5-35 µg/ml and 1.5-12 µg/ml, respectively. The potencies of naproxen and ranitidine HCl were found 99.40 % and 99.48 %, respectively. The proposed method was validated and successfully applied to the estimation of naproxen and ranitidine HCl in newly formulated combined tablet and in plasma.

The aim of the present work was to elucidate the impact of the structural changes of polymeric excipients during the course of storage on the drug release stability of tablets containing different polymers. Matrix tablets were formulated with famotidine as a model drug, using polyvinylpyrrolidone and carbopol matrix. Dissolution tests were carried out before and after storing the tablets under stress conditions for different time intervals. Parameters characterizing the release kinetics of matrix tablets, just as difference and similarity factors, were calculated to compare the release profiles as a function of storage time. Positron annihilation lifetime measurements were carried out to track the structural changes of the physical mixtures containing polymers during the course of storage. The changes in the positron lifetime distribution curves of the famotidine-polymer mixtures were in good correlation with the significant changes of release parameters of tablets. Thus the method would be a valuable tool for the screening of possible destabilizing interactions in the preformulation phase.

Three simple, accurate, and sensitive colorimetric methods for the determination of cimetidine (Cim) in pure form, in dosage forms, and in the presence of its oxidative degradates were developed. These methods are indirect, involve the addition of excess oxidant [N-bromosuccinimide (NBS) for method A; cerric sulfate [Ce(SO4)2] for methods B and C] of known concentration in acid medium to Cim, and the determination of the unreacted oxidant by measurement of the decrease in absorbance of amaranth dye for method A, chromotrope 2R for method B, and rhodamine 6G, for method C at a suitable maximum wavelength, lambda max: 520, 528, and 525 nm, for the 3 methods, respectively. Regression analysis of the Beer plots showed good correlation in the concentration ranges of 0.2-4.4 microg/mL for method A, and 0.2-3.4 microg/mL for methods B and C. The apparent molar absorptivity, Sandell sensitivity, and detection and quantitation limits were evaluated. The stoichiometric ratio between the drug (Cim) and the oxidant (NBS or Ce4+) was estimated. The validity of the proposed methods was tested by analyzing pure and dosage forms containing Cim with relative standard deviation < or = 1.18. The proposed methods could successfully determine the studied drug with varying excess of its oxidative degradation products, with recovery between 99.2 and 101.8, 100.2 and 102.8, and 99.8 and 102.0% for methods A-C, respectively.

Recent studies have suggested an increased fracture risk with acid-suppressive medication use. We studied two cohorts of men and women over age 65 who were enrolled in the Osteoporotic Fractures in Men Study (MrOS) and the Study of Osteoporotic Fractures (SOF), respectively. We used dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and assessed baseline use of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) and/or H2 receptor antagonists (H2RAs) in 5,755 men and 5,339 women. Medication use and bone mineral density (BMD) were assessed, and hip and other nonspine fractures were documented. On multivariate analysis, men using either PPIs or H2RAs had lower cross-sectional bone mass. No significant BMD differences were observed among women. However, there was an increased risk of nonspine fracture among women using PPIs (relative hazard [RH] = 1.34, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.10-1.64). PPI use was also associated with an increased risk of nonspine fracture in men but only among those who were not taking calcium supplements (RH = 1.49, 95% CI 1.04-2.14). H2RA use was not associated with nonspine fractures, and neither H2RA use nor PPI use was associated with incident hip fractures in men or women. The use of PPIs in older women, and perhaps older men with low calcium intake, may be associated with a modestly increased risk of nonspine fracture.

In this paper we describe the strategy used in the development and validation of a near-infrared diffuse reflectance spectroscopy method for identification and quantification of ranitidine in pharmaceutical products (granulates, cores and coated tablets) at-line, with a fiber optic probe. This method was developed in a pharmaceutical industry for routine application, to replace reference methods and was submitted and approved to the National Medicine Regulatory Agency (Infarmed). We consider that this is the first step of a broader parametric release approach to pharmaceutical products.

A simple, accurate and sensitive spectrophotometric method for determination of H2-receptor antagonists: cimetidine (CIM), famotidine (FAM), nizatidine (NIZ), and ranitidine hydrochloride (RAN) has been fully developed and validated. The method was based on the reaction of these drugs with NBS and subsequent measurement of the excess N-bromosuccinimide by its reaction with p-aminophenol to give a violet colored product (lambda max at 552 nm). Decrease in the absorption intensity (Delta A) of the colored product, due to the presence of the drug, was correlated with its concentration in the sample solution. Different variables affecting the reaction were carefully studied and optimized. Under optimal conditions, linear relationships with good correlation coefficients (0.9988-0.9998) were found between Delta A values and the corresponding concentrations of the drugs in a concentration range of 8-30, 6-22, 6-25, and 4-20 microg mL(-1) for CIM, FAM, NIZ, and RAN, respectively. Limits of detection were 1.22, 1.01, 1.08, and 0.74 microg mL(-1) for CIM, FAM, NIZ, and RAN, respectively. The method was validated in terms of accuracy, precision, ruggedness, and robustness; the results were satisfactory. The proposed method was successfully applied to the analysis of the above mentioned drugs in bulk substance and in pharmaceutical dosage forms; percent recoveries ranged from 98.5 +/- 0.9 to 102.4 +/- 0.8% without interference from the common excipients. The results obtained by the proposed method were comparable with those obtained by the official methods.

A simple, accurate and sensitive spectrophotometric method has been developed and validated for determination of H(2)-receptor antagonists: cimetidine, famotidine, nizatidine and ranitidine hydrochloride. The method was based on the oxidation of these drugs with cerium(IV) in presence of perchloric acid and subsequent measurement of the excess Ce(IV) by its reaction with p-dimethylaminobenzaldehyde to give a red colored product (lambda(max) at 464nm). The decrease in the absorption intensity of the colored product (DeltaA), due to the presence of the drug was correlated with its concentration in the sample solution. Different variables affecting the reaction were carefully studied and optimized. Under the optimum conditions, linear relationships with good correlation coefficients (0.9990-0.9994) were found between DeltaA values and the concentrations of the drugs in a concentration range of 1-20microgml(-1). The assay limits of detection and quantitation were 0.18-0.60 and 0.54-1.53microgml(-1), respectively. The method was validated, in terms of accuracy, precision, ruggedness and robustness; the results were satisfactory. The proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of the investigated drugs in pure and pharmaceutical dosage forms (recovery was 98.3-102.6+/-0.57-1.90%) without interference from the common excipients. The results obtained by the proposed method were comparable with those obtained by the official methods.

Based on the chemiluminescence (CL) intensity generated from the potassium ferricyanide [K(3)Fe(CN)(6)]-rhodamine 6G system in sodium hydroxide (NaOH) medium, a new sensitive flow-injection chemiluminescence (FI-CL) method has been developed, validated and applied for the determination of three kinds of H(2)-receptor antagonists: cimetidine (CIMT), ranitidine (RANT) hydrochloride and famotidine (FAMT). Under the optimum conditions, the linear range for the determination was 1.0 x 10(-9)-7.0 x 10(-5) g/ml for CIMT, 1.0 x 10(-9)-5.0 x 10(-5) g/mL for RANT hydrochloride and 5.0 x 10(-9)-7.0 x 10(-5) g/mL for FAMT. During 11 repeated measurements of 1.0 x 10(-6) g/mL sample solutions, the relative standard deviations (RSDs) were all <5%. The detection limit was 8.56 x 10(-10) g/mL for CIMT, 8.69 x 10(-10) g/mL for RANT hydrochloride and 2.35 x 10(-9) g/mL for FAMT (S:N = 3). This method has been successfully implemented for the analysis of H(2)-receptor antagonists in pharmaceuticals., ((c) 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

Impurity profiling of pharmaceutical drug substances or dosage formulations require methods involving high sensitivity and resolution from LC and MS alike as well as an acceptable analysis time. While throughput can be increased, it is usually at the expense of chromatographic resolution. The application of sub-2-microm stationary phases and high mobile linear velocities has been combined with orthogonal acceleration (oa)-TOF MS for the impurity structural characterization analysis of small-molecule pharmaceutics. A pharmaceutical drug substance was forcefully degraded and used to test the proof of concept of developing an impurity profile method by ultra performance liquid chromatography (UPLC). Optimum conditions were identified by use of method development simulation software as well as traditional approaches of method scouting with columns and a varied range of pH. Further analysis illustrated the effectiveness of applying oa-TOF MS techniques to assist in achieving exact mass coupled with MS/MS to define the structural characterization of the related substances relative to the pharmaceutical active ingredient and identification of any unknown impurity substances. The barriers with trade-offs between resolution and speed are overcome by the application of UPLC, whereas the increased sensitivity provides for superior exact mass oa-TOF MS.

An expedient high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) assay for nizatidine measurement in human plasma was developed and validated. After deproteinization of 200 microL of plasma by filtration, nizatidine and 4-amino-antipyrine (internal standard) were separated (capacity ratio 3.0 and 6.63, respectively) on Nova-Pak C18 cartridge at room temperature (RT), and detected spectrophotometrically at 320 nm. The mobile phase, 0.02 mol/L disodium hydrogen phosphate, acetonitrile, methanol, and triethylamine (80:10:10:0.05 vol/vol), was delivered at 1.5 mL/min. Calibration curves were linear (r2 > or = 0.999) in the range 0.02 to 5 microg/mL, detection and quantification limits were 0.01 and 0.02 microg/mL, respectively, intra-run and inter-run coefficients of variation were < or = 3.5% and < or = 4.2%, respectively, and recovery was >90%. Nizatidine was stable for at least 4 hours at RT, 12 weeks at -20 degrees C, and 3 freeze-thaw cycles in plasma; 16 hours at RT and 48 hours at -20 degrees C in deproteinized plasma; and 6 hours at RT and 3 weeks at -20 degrees C in water.

This paper proposes a new method for the quantitative determination of famotidine, based on its reaction with phosphomolybdic acid. The measurements were carried out at wavelength of 400 nm. This method has been validated and it has been applied to the determination of famotidine in pharmaceutical products.

High affinity Histamine H2-receptor binding ligands were assayed by automated solid phase extraction (SPE) coupled via electrospray ionization with a Quadrupole-Time-of-Flight mass spectrometer (Q-ToF-MS). The mass spectrometric behavior of these analytes was tested in aqueous solutions with several (nine) volatile salts, in different pH, and with various methanol contents. Out of the high amount of available ligands, three fluorescent-labeled molecules (5706, 5707, and 5708) were studied in detail. The limits of detection (LODs) for all three compounds obtained in mass spectrometric detection was 1 fmol (absolute) in continuous flow and FIA (flow injection analysis) measurements. The results obtained with FIA-fluorescence detection gave LODs a factor 10-100 times higher. A systematic investigation of sample solving conditions, loading flow conditions, and elution flow conditions made the automated SPE-MS coupling efficient. Ideally, the ligands were dissolved in MeOH-25 mM phosphate buffer (30:70 v/v; pH 11), the SPE loading flow comprised MeOH-25 mM phosphate buffer (30:70 v/v; pH 11) and the SPE elution flow contained MeOH-100 mM ammonium formate solution (90:10 v/v; pH 3). Using this method on a C18-modified silica cartridge (C18, 5 microm, 100 A, 300 microm i.d. x 5 mm, LC Packings) assures high recovery and achieved LODs for all three compounds of 5 fmol (absolute). As an absolute amount of ligands specifically bound on H2-receptors in biochemical experiments is, as will be published elsewhere, between 10 and 100 fmol, the SPE-MS method for the basic compounds can be directly applied for these Histamine H2-receptors.

In recent years, dietary supplements and herbal medicines are increasing in popularity all over the world. However, it is problematic that some manufacturers illegally included synthetic drugs in their products. Due to the extremely complex matrices of those products, most existing methods for screening illegal adulterations are time-consuming and liable to false positive. In this paper, a robust LC/MS/MS method for the high-throughput, sensitive and reliable determination of illegal adulterations from herbal medicines and dietary supplements was established. Minimal LC separation was employed and MRM was used to simultaneously monitor the three transitions under their respective optimal collision energy for each compound. Positive results were determined only if well-defined peaks appeared at all of the three transitions and the ratios among the peak areas were within given threshold. In this study, the method had been applied for the screening of nine most commonly adulterated therapeutic substances, such as sildenafil (Viagra) and famotidine, and the lower limits of detection of these compounds ranged from 0.05 to 1.5 ng/ml. Little sample preparation was needed for this method and the analysis time was less than 5 min/sample. The reliability has been demonstrated by the test with blank matrix. Over 200 products that were under suspicion by SDA of China had been assayed and till now no false negative or positive result was found. This method is rapid, simple, reliable and capable of screening multiple adulterants in one run.

Famotidine, belonging to H2-antagonist group, is a compound containing a thiazolic moiety and it is used in peptic ulcer therapy. This paper debates the possibility of developing a new ultraviolet spectrophotometric assessment by using the reaction between famotidine and picrolonic acid. We carried out our determinations at 362 nm, where the absorbency of famotidine - picrolonic acid complex is maximal, and we have established the optimal reaction conditions. This method was successfully applied for famotidine assay from pharmaceutical dosage forms.

A simple and fast spectrophotometric procedure has been developed for the determination of famotidine. The method is based on the interaction of ninhydrin with primary amines present in the famotidine. This reaction produces a blue coloured product which absorbed maximally at 590 nm. The effects of variables such as reagent concentration and reaction time were investigated to optimize the procedure. Beer's law was obeyed in the concentration range of 5-30 microg ml(-1) with molar absorptivity of 6.99 x 10(3) l M(-1) cm(-1). The results were validated statistically. The proposed method has been applied to the determination of famotidine in tablets with satisfactory results.

The photochemical fates of the histamine H2-receptor antagonists cimetidine and ranitidine were studied. Each of the two environmentally relevant pharmaceuticals displayed high rates of reaction with both singlet oxygen (1O2, O2(1delta(g))) and hydroxyl radical (*OH), two transient oxidants formed in sunlit natural waters. For cimetidine, the bimolecular rate constant for reaction with *OH in water is 6.5 +/- 0.5 x 10(9) M(-1) s(-1). Over the pH range 4-10, cimetidine reacts with 1O2 with bimolecular rate constants ranging from 3.3 +/- 0.3 x 10(6) M(-1) s(-1) at low pH to 2.5 +/- 0.2 x 10(8) M(-1) s(-1) in alkaline solutions. The bimolecular rate constants for ranitidine reacting with 1O2 in water ranges from 1.6 +/- 0.2 x 10(7) M(-1) s(-1) at pH 6-6.4 +/- 0.2 x 10(7) M(-1) s(-1) at pH 10. Reaction of ranitidine hydrochloride with *OH proceeds with a rate constant of 1.5 +/- 0.2 x 10(10) M(-1) s(-1). Ranitidine was also degraded in direct photolysis experiments with a half-life of 35 min under noon summertime sunlight at 45 degrees latitude, while cimetidine was shown to be resistant to direct photolysis. The results of these experiments, combined with the expected steady-state near surface concentrations of 1O2 and *OH, indicate that photooxidation mediated by 1O2 is the likely degradation pathway for cimetidine in most natural waters, and photodegradation by direct photolysis is expected to be the major pathway for ranitidine, with some degradation caused by 1O2. These predictions were verified in studies using Mississippi River water. Model compounds were analyzed by laser flash photolysis experiments to assess which functionalities within ranitidine and cimetidine are most susceptible to singlet-oxygenation and direct photolysis. The heterocyclic moieties of the pharmaceuticals were clearly implicated as the sites of reaction with 1O2, as evidenced by the high relative rate constants of the furan and imidazole models. The nitroacetamidine portion of ranitidine has been shown to be the moiety active in direct photolysis.

A simple kinetic spectrophotometric method is described for the determination of famotidine. The method is based on the oxidation of the drug with alkaline potassium permanganate. The reaction is followed spectrometrically by measuring the rate of change of the absorbance at 610 nm. The initial-rate and fixed-time (at 12 min) methods are adopted for determining the drug concentration. The calibration graphs are linear in the ranges of 2-10 microg mL(-1) and 1-8 microg mL(-1) using the initial-rate and fixed-time methods, respectively. The method has been applied to the determination of famotidine in tablet formulations. The obtained results are compared statistically with those given by a reference spectrophotometric method.

Four simple and accurate methods are described for the determination of nizatidine (NIZ) in pharmaceutical preparations. The first method is based on the formation of an ion-pair complex between the drug and either of bromocresol purple or picric acid with subsequent measurement of the developed colors at 411 and 400 nm, respectively. The second method depends on the condensation of mixed anhydrides of citric acid/acetic anhydride, with the tertiary amino group of the drug, where the developed color is measured spectrophotometrically at 545 nm. The oxidation of nizatidine by N-bromosuccinimide was utilized as a basis for the titrimetric method for its assay in capsules. The last method depends on the oxidation of nizatidine by ammonium cerium IV sulfate in the presence of perchloric acid with subsequent measurement of the absorbance at 314 nm; this principle is adopted to develop a kinetic method for the determination of NIZ in capsules. All the reaction conditions have been studied. The detection limits were varied from 0.44 to 0.78 microg ml(-1). The proposed methods were successfully applied to the assay of nizatidine in capsules., (Copyright 2003 Elsevier Science B.V.)

New polar reversed-phase stationary phases in HPLC provide specific selectivities which can help to solve traditional chromatographic problems related to the development of chromatographic methods with widely different retention times for the sample components. One such case is the analysis of pharmaceutical formulations against the common cold. Acetaminophen, phenylephrine and chlorpheniramine, compounds with different polarities, are frequently associated in these drugs. An isocratic and rapid HPLC method for the simultaneous determination of the three compounds, acetaminophen, phenylephrine and chlorpheniramine, in capsules as pharmaceutical formulations, including the separation of impurities (4-aminophenol and 4-chloracetanilide) and excipients, has been developed and validated. The final chromatographic conditions employed a Supelco Discovery HS PEG column poly(ethyleneglycol) 15x0.46 cm, 5 microm. The mobile phase was 20 mM phosphate buffer, pH 7.0-acetonitrile (90:10, v/v) at a flow-rate of 1 ml/min. UV detection was performed at 215 nm for all the compounds except acetaminophen, which was measured at 310 nm. Validation parameters permit us to consider this method suitable., (Copyright 2002 Elsevier Science B.V.)

Three simple, accurate and sensitive colorimetric methods (A, B and C) for the determination of ranitidine HCl (RHCl) in bulk sample, in dosage forms and in the presence of its oxidative degradates are described. The first method A is based on the oxidation of the drug by N-bromosuccinimide (NBS) and determination of the unreacted NBS by measurement of the decrease in absorbance of amaranth dye (AM) at a suitable lambda(max)=520 nm. The methods B and C involve the addition of excess Ce(4+) and determination of the unreacted oxidant by decrease the red color of chromotrope 2R (C2R) at a suitable lambda(max)=528 nm for method B or decrease the orange pink color of rhodamine 6G (Rh6G) at a suitable lambda(max)=526 nm for method C. Regression analysis of Beer-Lambert plots showed good correlation in the concentration ranges 0.2-3.6, 0.1-2.8 and 0.1-2.6 microg ml(-1) for methods A, B and C, respectively. The apparent molar absorptivity. Sandell sensitivity, detection and quantitation limits were calculated. For more accurate results, Ringbom optimum concentration ranges were 0.3-3.4, 0.2-2.6 and 0.2-2.4 microg ml(-1) for methods A, B and C, respectively. Analyzing pure and dosage forms containing RHCl tested the validity of the proposed methods. The relative standard deviations were

An accurate and simple kinetic method is described for the determination of ranitidine and nizatidine in pure form and in pharmaceuticals. The method is based on the reaction of the compounds with 7-chloro-4-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazole in pH 7.4 borate buffer at 60 degrees C for a fixed time of 25 min for both compounds. The absorbance of the reaction product is measured at 495 nm for ranitidine and nizatidine. Calibration graphs were linear over the concentration range of 2-20 microg/mL, with limits of detection of 0.13 (3.7 x 10(-7) M) and 0.25 microg/mL (7.5 x 10(-7) M) for ranitidine and nizatidine, respectively. The proposed method was applied successfully to the determination of ranitidine in tablets and ampoules with average recoveries of 100.26+/-0.69 and 100.29+/-0.59%, respectively, and to the determination of nizatidine in capsules with an average recovery of 104.26+/-0.44%. The results obtained are in good agreement with those obtained by the other methods used for comparison. A proposal of the reaction pathway is also presented.

A selective, precise, and accurate method was developed for the determination of cimetidine (C), famotidine (F), and ranitidine hydrochloride (R x HCl) in the presence of their sulfoxide derivatives. The method involves quantitative densitometric evaluation of mixtures of the drugs and their derivatives after separation by high-performance thin-layer chromatography on silica gel plates (10 x 20 cm) with ethyl acetate-isopropanol-20% ammonia (9 + 5 + 4, v/v) as the mobile phase for both C and F and ethyl acetate-methanol-20% ammonia (10 + 2 + 2, v/v) as the mobile phase for R x HCl; Rf values for C, F, and R x HCl and their corresponding derivatives were 0.85 and 0.59, 0.73 and 0.41, and 0.56 and 0.33, respectively. Developing time was approximately 20 min. For densitometric evaluation, peak areas were recorded at 218, 265, and 313 nm for C, F, and R x HCl, respectively. The relationship between concentration and the corresponding peak area was plotted for the ranges of 5-50 microg/spot for C and 2-20 microg/spot for F and R x HCl. Mean recoveries were 100.39 +/- 1.33, 99.77 +/- 1.30, and 100.09 +/- 0.69% for C, F, and R x HCl, respectively. The proposed method was used successfully for stability testing of the pure drugs in the presence of up to 90% of their degradates, in bulk powder and dosage forms. The results obtained were analyzed statistically and compared with those obtained by the official methods.

Two new potentiometric methods for determination of famotidine in pure form and in its pharmaceutical tablet form are developed. In the first method, the construction of plasticised poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) matrix-type famotidine ion-selective membrane electrode and its use in the potentiometric determination of famotidine in pharmaceutical preparations are described. It is based on the use of the ion-associate species, formed by famotidine cation and tetraphenyl borate (TPB) counterion. The electrode exhibited a linear response for 1 x 10(-3)-1 x 10(-5) M of famotidine solutions over the pH range 1-5 with an average recovery of 99.26% and mean standard deviation of 1.12%. Common organic and inorganic cations showed negligible interference. In the second method, the conditions for the oxidimetric titration of famotidine have been studied. The method depends on using lead(IV) acetate for oxidation of the thioether contained in famotidine. The titration takes place in presence of catalytic quantities of potassium bromide (KBr). Direct potentiometric determination of 1.75 x 10(-2) M famotidine solution showed an average recovery of 100.51% with a mean standard deviation of 1.26%. The two methods have been applied successfully to commercial tablet. The results obtained reveal good percentage recoveries, which are in good agreement with those obtained by the official methods.

A new simple and sensitive kinetic spectrophotometric method is described for analysis of nizatidine (I) and ranitidine (II). The method involves the reaction of the drugs with alkaline potassium permanganate, whereby a green color peaking at 610 nm is produced. The reaction is monitored spectrophotometrically by measuring the rate of change of absorbance of the resulting manganate species at 610 nm. Calibration graphs are linear over the concentration range 0.8-4.0 microg/ml and the precision (% RSD 1.80, 1.53 for I and II, respectively) is quite acceptable. The method is satisfactorily applied for direct analysis of pharmaceutical preparations containing I and II. A proposal of the reaction pathway is postulated.

A simple capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) method is described for the simultaneous determination of cimetidine (CIM), famotidine (FAM), nizatidine (NIZ), and ranitidine (RAN). The analysis of these drugs was performed in a 100 mM phosphate buffer, pH 3.5. Several parameters were studied, including wavelength for detection, concentration and pH of phosphate buffer, and separation voltage. The quantitative ranges were 100-1,000 microM for each analyte. The intra- and interday relative standard deviations (n = 5) were all less than 4%. The detection limits were found to be about 10 microM for CIM, 20 microM for RAN, 20 microM for NIZ, and 10 microM for FAM (S/N = 3, injection 1 s) at 214 nm. All recoveries were greater than 92%. Applications of the method to the assay of these drugs in tablets proved to be feasible.

A liquid chromatographic method for determination of the residues of ranitidine hydrochloride on various surfaces employed in drug manufacture is described. Cotton swabs, moistened with a methanol-water (1:1, v/v) mixture were used to remove any residues of drugs from glass, vinyl, and stainless steel surfaces, and gave recoveries of 85%, 78% and 90%, respectively. Residues were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography on a C18 column at 25 degrees C with methanol-ammonium acetate (40:60 v/v) pH 6.7 as the mobile phase and detection at 320 nm. The method was validated over a concentration range of 20-10 000 ng/ml and had a detection limit of 2 ng/ml.

To prevent cross-contamination between pharmaceutical products manufactured with the same equipment, cleanup procedures must be introduced before the manufacture of a new product begins. From an analytical point of view, it is crucial to select and validate a suitable analytical method to determine contaminants in the rinse water, swabs, and the placebo of the next product. High performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) was chosen in our laboratory for this purpose and was optimized to meet the requirements of trace determination. The method was validated in terms of the limit of detection, limit of quantitation (LOQ), linearity close to the LOQ, sample preparation from the swab media and from the placebo of the next product made with the same equipment (recovery), precision, selectivity (interference from the swab and placebo matrixes), resolution (from related compounds), and robustness. The HPTLC method was applied to 2 different generic drugs affecting gastrointestinal function--the water-soluble H2-receptor antagonist ranitidine hydrochloride (RHCl) and the water-insoluble choleretic drug ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA). Chromatography was performed on silica plates by using toluene-methanol-diethylamine (9 + 1 + 1, v/v/v) and n-heptane-ethyl acetate-glacial acetic acid (5 + 5 + 1, v/v/v) as the mobile phases for RHCl and UDCA, respectively. RHCl was measured in situ at 320 nm, whereas the detection of UDCA was performed at 502 nm after postchromatographic derivatization. The method was used for the determination of RHCl and UDCA in the swabs, the final rinse water, and the placebo batch after the cleanup process.

Terfenadine reacts with mixed anhydrides (malonic and acetic anhydrides) producing a yellow-coloured product with intense fluorescence. Based on this fact, a spectrophotometric method was developed for the determination of terfenadine in dosage forms. The relation between the absorbance at 395 nm and the concentration is rectilinear over the range 0.5-5 microg ml(-1) (molar absorptivity is 1.405 x 10(5) l mol(-1) cm (-1)). The reaction product was also measured spectrofluorimetrically at 435 nm after excitation at 395 nm. The fluorescence intensity was directly proportional to the concentration over the range 0.5-4 ng ml(-1) with minimum detectability (S/N = 2) of 0.07 microg ml(-1) (approximately 1.5 x 10(-10) M). The different parameters affecting the development and stability of the reaction product were carefully studied and incorporated into the procedure. The proposed spectrophotometric method was successfully applied to the determination of terfenadine in tablets and suspensions; the percentage recoveries were 99.83 +/- 0.75 and 99.65 +/- 0.83, respectively. The proposed spectrofluorimetric method was applied to the determination of terfenadine in spiked human plasma. The percentage recovery was 99.35 +/- 2.19. The method is highly sensitive and specific. No interference was noticed from co-formulated drugs, such as pseudoephedrine and ibuprofen.

The technique of automated in-tube solid-phase microextraction (SPME) coupled with liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS) was evaluated for the determination of ranitidine. In-tube SPME is an extraction technique for organic compounds in aqueous samples, in which analytes are extracted from the sample directly into an open tubular capillary column by repeated aspirate/dispense steps. In order to optimize the extraction of ranitidine, several in-tube SPME parameters such as capillary column stationary phase, extraction pH and number and volume of aspirate/dispense steps were investigated. The optimum extraction conditions for ranitidine from aqueous samples were 10 aspirate/dispense steps of 30 microliters of sample in 25 mM Tris-HCl (pH 8.5) with an Omegawax 250 capillary column (60 cm x 0.25 mm I.D., 0.25 micron film thickness). The ranitidine extracted on the capillary column was easily desorbed with methanol, and then transported to the Supelcosil LC-CN column with the mobile phase methanol-2-propanol-5 M ammonium acetate (50:50:1). The ranitidine eluted from the column was determined by ESI-MS in selected ion monitoring mode. In-tube SPME followed by LC-ESI-MS was performed automatically using the HP 1100 autosampler. Each analysis required 16 min, and carryover of ranitidine in this system was below 1%. The calibration curve of ranitidine in the range of 5-1000 ng/ml was linear with a correlation coefficient of 0.9997 (n = 24), and a detection limit at a signal-to-noise ratio of three was ca. 1.4 ng/ml. The within-day and between-day variations in ranitidine analysis were 2.5 and 6.2% (n = 5), respectively. This method was also applied for the analyses of tablet and urine samples.

A high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) procedure for the simultaneous determination of famotidine (FMT), ranitidine HCl (RNT), cimetidine (CMT), and nizatidine (NZT) was developed using a two-level, full-factorial design with three variables (volume of methanol, percentage of triethylamine, and concentration of phosphate buffer) to select an acceptable mobile phase. A column (15 cm x 4.6 mm ID) of Inertsil ODS-2 (5 microns) was used, and 0.04 M aqueous sodium dihydrogen phosphate/acetonitrile/methanol/TEA at a proportion of 345/20/35/0.7 (v/v/v/v) was the selected mobile phase (1 ml/min). The detection wavelength was set at 230 nm, and procaine HCl was used as the internal standard. Precision and linearity of the method were assessed. None of the commercial samples was found to be outside the compendial limits of 90.0% to 110.0% of the claim amount.

This minireview addresses the usefulness of nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis-mass spectrometry (NACE-MS), mainly in the analysis of lipophilic peptides such as gramicidin S and bacitracin, and therapeutic drugs such as pyrazoloacridine, the H2-antagonist mifentidine, tamoxifen, and their metabolites. The beneficial effects of NACE-MS in typical bioanalytical applications are analyzed case by case. A suitable and widely applicable NACE-MS analysis is identified, which is an electrolyte buffer containing ammonium acetate (5-50 mM) and/or acetic acid (up to 100 mM) with varying composition of organic solvents. Either acetonitrile or methanol or a mixture of the two are mostly utilized in the nonaqueous media. Primary considerations in developing NACE-MS are also discussed.

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imaging is routinely used to detect the protons of mobile water molecules within samples. In this investigation, this non-destructive, non-invasive technique was used to determine the cause for faster than predicted drug release from a dissolution-based regulated-release tablet. The NMR images of tablets, from two different formulations, taken at various intervals of time while immersed in static USP dissolution medium showed that the tablet with faster than predicted drug release had a porous coating. The porous coat exposed more of the core surface area to the dissolution medium than desired and this caused an increase in the rate of dissolution of the core. The data presented in this paper demonstrate the usefulness of NMR imaging in solid dosage form development.

Most xenobiotics are transferred from blood into breast milk by passive diffusion. However, an active transport mechanism has been speculated for cimetidine, and the purpose of this study was to characterize cimetidine transfer into human milk. Twelve healthy lactating volunteers received single oral doses of 100, 600, and 1200 mg cimetidine in a randomized, crossover design on 3 different days. Blood and milk specimens were collected and assayed for cimetidine. In vitro measurements, including skim to whole milk concentration ratio, milk pH, and free fractions in serum and milk were used for a diffusion model prediction of milk to serum concentration ratio of cimetidine; the mean milk/serum ratio (+/- SD) was 1.05 +/- 0.18. The observed milk/serum ratio (5.77 +/- 1.24) was 5.5 times higher than the milk/serum ratio predicted by diffusion. The observed milk/serum ratio for the three dosing regimens were not significantly different from one another. Time of peak concentration (tmax) in milk (3.3 +/- 0.7 hours) displayed a delay compared with serum tmax (1.7 +/- 0.6 hours). Oral clearance for 1200 mg cimetidine dose (0.47 +/- 0.11 L/hr/kg) was significantly lower compared with oral clearance values for 100 and 600 mg cimetidine doses (0.59 +/- 0.11 and 0.57 +/- 0.13 L/hr/kg, respectively). The maternal dose of cimetidine ingested by a suckling infant based on body weight was estimated to be 6.7%, which appears to be safe under normal conditions. This study provides the first definitive evidence of an active transport system for drug transfer into human milk, which may have broader consequences for the suckling infant.

Electrospray ionization was used for the analysis of ebrotidine and its potential metabolites. Since standard electrospray gave only the quasi-molecular ions for most of the compounds, two collision-induced dissociation (CID) experiments were carried out in order to obtain structural information: tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) and in-source fragmentation by increasing the cone voltage (CVF, cone voltage fragmentation). CVF produced more fragmentation than MS/MS, and the intensities of the fragments formed were also greater. Unlike Ms/MS spectra, CVF spectra gave ions which showed retention of the bromine isotope pattern, adducts with acetate and dehydration. The general fragmentation pathways observed for ebrotidine and its derivatives were basically the same for the CVF and MS/MS experiments. Most of the fragments were formed by the breaking of bonds to heteroatomics. In order to analyse biological samples containing ebrotidine and its biotransformation products, an HPLC/MS separation procedure with simultaneous UV detection was developed, allowing the identification of ebrotidine and its metabolites in human urine.

Heparin, a naturally occuring, polydisperse, polyanionic glycosaminoglycan, was investigated as a chiral selector for capillary zone electrophoresis. Baseline separations were obtained for a variety of underivatized drugs including antimalarials and antihistamines. Analysis was carried out at a pH of 4.5 or 5 using 2% heparin (w/w) in a 10 mM phosphate buffer under an applied voltage of 15 kV. All of the solutes successfully resolved contained at least two nitrogens with one of the nitrogens incorporated in a heterocyclic aromatic ring. Further, successful enantioresolution seemed to require that the nitrogens be somewhat distant from each other in the molecule. The results suggest that, in addition to electrostatic interactions, solute size may also play a role in the heparin chiral recognition mechanism.