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Concentrated solutions of doxycycline are often added to drinking water of animals for oral antibiotic therapy. However, stability concerns of doxycycline in solution involve an accurate selection of the solvent system to ensure that the active substance will remain within the acceptance range during the product shelf-life and to avoid sub-therapeutic dosage. Different solvent systems have been evaluated in order to determine their influence on the stability of concentrated doxycycline solutions. The results showed differences in the degradation kinetics of doxycycline depending on the co-solvent used and they permitted to select a solvent system for liquid doxycycline hyclate formulations with low rate of degradation even after several months of storage. So, the inclusion of ethanol together with propylene glycol as main excipient was found to be beneficial, while no benefit was observed concerning the addition of citric acid. Once administered to drinking water, the solutions were stable for 24 h with no influence of the solvent system. ispartof: JOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICAL AND BIOMEDICAL ANALYSIS vol:159 pages:60-65 ispartof: location:England status: published

Lighting in the working environment plays a significant role on the degree of degradation of photosensitive, thermolabile compounds and on working efficiency. Light emitting diodes (LEDs) are semiconductor light emitting devices that are promising artificial light sources with easy modulation of light wave signals and are also known for low heat generation. Therefore, the effect of polychromatic LED light was tested in the working environment using the drug compounds montelukast, nifedipine, and clavulanic acid, which are known to be photosensitive or thermolabile. As a control, other lighting sources like a sodium lamp, a classic (incandescent, tungsten) lamp, and indirect sunlight were also used in this study. All the experiments were carried out with methanolic solutions at room temperature. An Acquity UPLC/MS/MS system was used for quantification of the main analytes and degradation products. Under the tested conditions, LED lighting proved to be more suitable for handling photosensitive and thermolabile compounds.

A robust, specific, precise and sensitive high-performance liquid chromatographic method has been described for purity control of temocillin. Chromatographic separation was achieved using a Symmetry C18 (150 × 4.6 mm, 5 µm) column kept at 30 °C. The mobile phase consisted of a gradient mixture of mobile phases A (5 g/L solution of Na2HPO4·2H2O, pH 7) and B (ACN-MeOH-H2O, 50:10:40 v/v/v) pumped at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. UV detection was performed at 235 nm. The developed method was validated according to the ICH guidelines for its robustness, selectivity, sensitivity, precision and linearity. An experimental design was applied for the robustness study. Linearity was assessed both at impurity level in the range from LOQ to 10 % and assay level from 25 % to 150 % (0.6 mg/mL = 100 %). It is the first liquid chromatographic method described for the separation of temocillin and its potential impurities. It was possible to identify four degradation products from the forced degradation studies. The degradants do not interfere with the main peak and other known impurities showing that the method is specific and stability-indicating.

Reversed-phase liquid chromatography coupled with photo-diode array (PDA) detection and electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS) was used to characterize the components of meleumycin, a 16-membered macrolide antibiotic produced by fermentation. In total 31 components were characterized in commercial samples, including 12 impurities that had never been reported before and 12 others that were partially characterized. The structures of these unknown compounds were deduced by comparison of their fragmentation patterns with those of known components. Their ultraviolet spectra and chromatographic behavior were used to confirm the proposed structures: e.g. λmax shift from 232 nm to 282 nm would indicate the presence of an α-, β-, γ-, δ-unsaturated ketone instead of a normal α-, β-, γ-, δ-unsaturated alcohol in the 16-membered ring of the examined components. Compared to other methods, this LC/MS(n) method is particularly advantageous to characterize minor components at trace levels in multi-components antibiotics, in terms of sensitivity and efficiency.

The characterization of impurities present in vertilmicin by liquid chromatography (LC) coupled with mass spectrometry (MS) is described. A reversed phase (RP)-LC method using a C18 column resistant to basic pH with an alkaline (pH 11) aqueous mobile phase was developed and coupled to MS with an electrospray ionization (ESI) source in the positive ion mode which provides MSn capability. In total, 18 impurities were detected in a commercial sample. Eleven impurities described in this work were newly identified.

The characterization of impurities present in micronomicin sulfate injection by liquid chromatography (LC) coupled with mass spectrometry (MS) is described. A reversed phase (RP)-LC method using a C₁₈ column resistant to an alkaline (pH 11) aqueous mobile phase was developed and coupled to MS with an electrospray ionization (ESI) source in the positive ion mode which provides MS(n) capability. A total of thirty six impurities were detected in commercial samples: five impurities were identified by comparison of their fragmentation patterns with those of available related substances, eleven of them were identified in accordance with relevant literature, while the other twenty impurities were newly identified using the MS/MS spectra of the available related reference substances as interpretative templates combined with knowledge of the nature of functional group fragmentation behaviors. This work was applied to evaluate the quality of micronomicin sulfate injection from different manufacturers.

A gradient liquid chromatographic (LC) method for control of emtricitabine (FTC) was validated for the analysis of FTC formulations (capsules and oral solution) and fixed-dose-combination tablets containing FTC [FTC combined with tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) and FTC combined with TDF and efavirenz (EFV)]. The method is based on the purity test recently prescribed in the International Pharmacopoeia and uses a Hypersil BDS C18 column (25 cm × 4.6 mm i.d.), 5 μm kept at a temperature of 35 °C. Other reversed-phase columns were also investigated. The mobile phases for gradient elution consist of acetonitrile, phosphate buffer and water. The flow rate is 1.0 mL min−1 and UV detection is performed at 280 nm. The method is capable of separating the main components from one another, from the inactive ingredients and from the main degradation products. The method was validated with respect to accuracy, precision, sensitivity and linearity for each component and the solution media were optimized. Finally, commercial FTC capsules, FTC oral solution, FTC/TDF tablets and FTC/TDF/EFV tablets were examined.

A simple, robust, and rapid reversedphase high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the analysis of demeclocycline and its impurities is described. Chromatographic separations were achieved on a Symmetry Shield RP8 (75 mm × 4.6 mm, 3.5 μm) column kept at 40°C. The mobile phase was a gradient mixture of acetonitrile, 0.06 M sodium edetate (pH 7.5), 0.06 M tetrapropylammonium hydrogen sulphate (pH 7.5) and water, A (2:35:35:28 v/v/v/v) and B (30:35:35:0 v/v/v/v) pumped at a flow rate of 1 mL/min. UV detection was performed at 280 nm. The developed method was validated according to the ICH guidelines for specificity, limit of detection, limit of quantification, linearity, precision, and robustness. An experimental design was applied for robustness study. Results show that the peak shape, chromatographic resolution between the impurities, and the total analysis time are satisfactory and better than previous methods. The method has been applied for the analysis of commercial demeclocycline bulk samples available on the market.

The aim of this study was to characterize as much as possible the unknown peaks in the chromatogram obtained with a non-volatile LC-UV system, which was published earlier for the separation of dirithromycin and its related substances. For this purpose, each peak eluting from the non-volatile system was collected and transferred to a MS, after performing a desalting process. The desalting procedure uses a XTerra RP C18 column (250 mm x 4.6 mm, 5 µm) and two mobile phases consisting of a mixture of water / 0.1% (v/v) formic acid and a mixture of acetonitrile / 0.1% (v/v) formic acid, respectively. Mass spectral data were acquired on an LCQ ion trap mass spectrometer equipped with an electrospray ionization source (ESI), operating in the positive ion mode. In addition to the thirteen already known compounds, seven new compounds were elucidated. Five impurities showed modifications at the amino group of the desosamine molecule, one an alteration at position C-9 and one a modification at position C-13 of the m...

Sodium cysteamine phosphate is a prodrug derivative of cysteamine that can be used in cystinosis treatment. Although titrimetric assays are very well established and precise, iodimetric determination of sodium cysteamine phosphate requires considerably more carefulness and time from the analyst than usual. The possibility to assess sodium cysteamine phosphate by CE was evaluated by means of the quantification of its oxidation product, cystamine, which is a more suitable substance to be used as primary standard than sodium cysteamine phosphate. Apparently, this approach should be straightforward, but systematic differences between the results obtained with CE and titrimetric assays were noticed. MS and CE-MS were employed to aid in the investigation of the possible causes of imprecision of the sodium cysteamine phosphate titration and CE determination. For this purpose, a simple and inexpensive ESI source was constructed. It was observed that cystamine is not the final product of the cysteamine and/or sodium cysteamine phosphate iodine-oxidation and other species besides cystamine may be formed depending on the reaction conditions, which explains the difficulties observed in the sodium cysteamine phosphate quantification.

A method was validated and optimized to determine tobramycin (TOB) and its related substances. TOB is an aminoglycoside antibiotic which lacks a strong UV absorbing chromophore or fluorophore. Due to the physicochemical properties of TOB, capillary electrophoresis (CE) in combination with Capacitively Coupled Contactless Conductivity Detection (C(4)D) was chosen. The optimized separation method uses a background electrolyte (BGE) composed of 25 mM morpholinoethane-sulphonic acid (MES) adjusted to pH 6.4 by L-histidine (l-His). 0.3 mM cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) was added as electroosmotic flow modifier in a concentration below the critical micellar concentration (CMC). Ammonium acetate 50 mg L(-1) was used as internal standard (IS). 30 kV was applied in reverse polarity (cathode at the injection capillary end) on a fused silica capillary (65/43 cm; 75 μm id). The optimized separation was obtained in less than 7 min with good linearity (R(2)=0.9995) for tobramycin. It shows a good precision expressed as RSD on relative peak areas equal to 0.2% and 0.7% for intraday and interday respectively. The LOD and LOQ are 0.4 and 1.3 mg L(-1) corresponding to 9 pg and 31 pg respectively.

In this study, various analytical techniques were applied in order to investigate the feasibility of continuously infusing vancomycin in intensive care units. First, the chemical stability of a 40 mg/mL vancomycin solution in normal saline was studied. The stability study included pH measurement, visual inspection, UV spectrophotometry, and assay by capillary electrophoresis. Subsequently, physical and chemical compatibility of vancomycin with five commonly co-administered drugs was evaluated. Physical compatibility tests consisted of pH measurement, visual inspection, and nephelometry. Physically compatible drugs were further assessed for chemical compatibility with vancomycin, by determining the vancomycin content in mixed samples using capillary electrophoresis. No changes in physical characteristics of the vancomycin solution were observed during 24 hours. The content of vancomycin remained higher than 90% of the nominal concentration throughout the stability study. Addition of sodium valproate and di...

A selective reversed-phase (RP) liquid chromatographic (LC) method coupled with UV for the determination of tylosin and its related substances is described. The gradient method uses a Capcell pak C18 ACR column (25 cm×4.6 mm id, 5 μm) maintained at a temperature of 60°C. The mobile phases consist of acetonitrile, phosphate buffer pH 5.5 and water: (A; 27.5:10:62.5 v/v/v) and (B; 50:10:40 v/v/v). The flow rate is 1.0 mL/min and UV detection is performed at 280 nm. It allows the separation of all known and 22 other unknown related substances (≥0.02%) from the main compound and from one another. The method shows good precision, sensitivity, linearity (between 0.2 μg/mL and 1.25 mg/mL) and robustness. The limit of quantification is 0.2 μg/mL, corresponding to 0.020%. Seven bulk tylosin samples containing a large number of impurities were examined using this method.

A method was developed to determine simultaneously kanamycin, its related substances and sulphate in kanamycin sulphate using capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection. Kanamycin is an aminoglycoside antibiotic that lacks a strong UV-absorbing chromophore. Due to its physicochemical properties, CE in combination with capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection was chosen. The separation method uses a BGE composed of 40 mM 2-(N-morpholino)ethanesulphonic acid monohydrate and 40 mM L-histidine, pH 6.35. A 0.6 mM N-cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) solution was added as electroosmotic flow modifier in a concentration below the critical micellar concentration (CMC). Ammonium acetate 50 mg/L was used as internal standard. In total, 30 kV was applied in reverse polarity on a fused-silica capillary (65/41 cm; 75 μm id). The optimized separation was obtained in less than 6 min with good linearity (R(2)=0.9999) for kanamycin. It shows a good precision expressed as RSD on the relative peak areas equal to 0.3 and 1.1% for intra-day and inter-day precision, respectively. The LOD and LOQ are 0.7 and 2.3 mg/L, respectively. Similarly, for sulphate, a good linearity (R(2)=0.9996) and precision (RSD 0.4 and 0.6% for intra-day and inter-day, respectively) were obtained.

Several gentamicin bulk samples from different origins were investigated using an LC/MS method. LC equipped with ion trap MS with positive ionization was performed on a Capcell Pak C18 (AQ) column with the mobile phase containing 50 mM trifluoroacetic (TFA) and methanol. Impurities present in batches of gentamicin bulk samples were elucidated and compared according to their fragmentation behavior. In total seventeen impurities present in samples, five impurities were not elucidated and two compounds were identified preliminarily. It was observed that the impurity profiles were different in samples from different origins which indicate necessity in the quality control of gentamicin.

Static headspace (HS) sampling has been commonly used to test for volatile organic chemicals, usually referred to as residual solvents (RS) in pharmaceuticals. If the sample is not soluble in water, organic solvents are used. However, these seriously reduce the sensitivity in the determination of some RS. Here, mixed aqueous dilution media (a mixture of water and an organic solvent like dimethyl formamide, dimethyl sulfoxide or dimethyl acetamide) were studied as alternative media for static HS-gas chromatographic analysis. Although it has been known that mixed aqueous dilution media can often improve sensitivity for many RS, this study used a systematic approach to investigate phase volumes and the organic content in the HS sampling media. Reference solutions using 18 different class 1, 2 and 3 RS were evaluated. The effect of salt addition was also studied in this work. A significant increase in the peak area was observed for all RS using mixed aqueous dilution media, when compared with organic solvents alone. Matrix effects related to the mixed aqueous dilution media were also investigated and reported. Repeatability and linearity obtained with mixed aqueous dilution media were found to be similar to those observed with pure organic solvents.

A liquid chromatographic method with UV detection was developed for the assay of a tablet for HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) treatment containing three active components, which are emtricitabine, tenofovir disoproxil fumarate and rilpivirine. A Hypersil BDS-C18 column was used as stationary phase and the assay was performed with gradient elution using mobile phases containing acetonitrile, 0.2 M potassium dihydrogen phosphate and water. Dimethyl sulfoxide–distilled water (1:1) was used as solvent for the active components. The method proved to be selective, linear, repeatable, sensitive and easy to perform.

A capillary electrophoresis-based method with enzymatic reaction inside the capillary for the screening of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) inhibitors has been developed. MMP-2 and MMP-9, which have been considered as promising targets for cancer therapy, were selected as the model enzymes. The hydrolysis of a fluorogenic substrate catalyzed by MMPs was determined by measuring the increase in fluorescence. For high-throughput screening, the short-end injection was employed. The enzyme, substrate containing inhibitors, and enzyme solutions were injected from the outlet of the capillary via the sandwich mode. They were mixed by alternating the potential at positive and negative polarities. Online hydrolysis, separation, and detection were achieved in 70 s with approximately 0.87 fmol of MMP required for each assay. The applicability of electrophoretically mediated microanalysis (EMMA) with fluorescence detection to estimate the inhibitory mechanism and to determine the IC(50) values was evaluated for two natural inhibitors, epigallocatechin gallate and oleic acid. A few other natural compounds such as resveratrol, quercetin, caffeic acid, glucosamine, and doxycycline were also screened to test their inhibitory potency. The results obtained were compared with those obtained by offline enzyme assay and confirm the effectiveness of the present method. A rapid, cost-effective, and fully automated method for MMP inhibitor screening is proposed.

The utility of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) to decrease the interaction between cytochrome P450 enzymes and the capillary wall during in-capillary enzymatic incubation was investigated. First, 18 surfactants were screened to determine their MWNT-dispersing capacity. A probe sonication procedure was developed in order to attain homogeneous MWNT dispersions within a reasonable time. Next, the influence of surfactants and MWNTs on P450 activity was studied, employing verapamil and CYP3A4 as model substrate and P450 isoform, respectively. MWNTs dispersed in Brij 35 did not affect CYP3A4 activity significantly and were selected for subsequent in-capillary tests. An in-line CE assay, involving electrophoretic mixing of reagents and zero potential amplification in the thermostatted part of the capillary, was developed. In-capillary incubations without MWNTs caused adsorption of enzyme to the capillary wall and a concomitant decline of capillary lifetime, even when extensive between-run rinsing was applied. Addition of MWNTs to the enzyme solution entailed substantial improvement of migration time and peak shape repeatability. The performance of three types of MWNTs was compared.

This study presents the in-capillary enzymatic biotransformation of dextromethorphan, an antitusive drug and opioid receptor antagonist, and subsequent electrophoretic separation of its products. The study includes the optimization of separation parameters to fulfill the requirements of an online microreaction. The analyses were performed in a bare fused-silica capillary using 100 mM sodium tetraborate (pH 10.0) mixed with linear polyacrylamide (20%, v/v) and 2-propanol (10%, v/v). This BGE was suitable for monitoring both off-line and in-capillary incubations. The partial filling technique enabled the enzymatic reaction to be carried out in its optimal environment (20 mM sodium phosphate, pH 7.4). Finally, in-capillary microreaction in the presence of cytochrome P450 3A4 gave satisfactory outcomes.

A rapid and sensitive electrophoretically mediated microanalysis method with field-enhanced sample injection (FESI) for in-capillary derivatization was developed to determine selenomethionine (SeMet) and selenomethionine selenoxide (SeOMet). Phthalic anhydride (PA) was selected as the derivatization reagent due to the fast reaction at room temperature and the stability of derivatives. The in-capillary derivatization was accomplished by electrophoretically mixing PA and sample plugs. PA reagent was introduced hydrodynamically into the capillary, whereas the sample solution was injected electrokinetically, thus allowing a selective preconcentration of the analytes by FESI. For FESI, the optimum sample solvent was 2 mM borate solution. The borate buffer was suitable for both in-capillary derivatization and separation of the derivatives. The combination of electrophoretically mediated microanalysis with FESI for in-capillary derivatization was successfully achieved with about 800-fold concentration sensitivity enhancement compared to direct CE-UV detection in the same setup. The present method is miniaturized and fully automated, which ensures the on-line derivatization, stacking, separation and detection in 10 min. Finally, the developed method was successfully applied to measure enzyme activities by analyzing the reaction mixtures of SeMet with human flavin-containing monooxygenases (FMO). The results showed that both FMO1 and FMO3, but not FMO5 could catalyze the Se-oxygenation of SeMet.

A simple and sensitive liquid chromatography assay following solid phase extraction was developed for simultaneous determination of adenosine and inosine in sheep plasma. The system consisted of a Symmetry C18 column, a mobile phase composed of acetonitrile, 100 mM sodium dihydrogen phosphate and water, and ultraviolet detection at 254 nm. The method showed good sensitivity (limits of detection for adenosine and inosine were 30 and 50 ng/ml, respectively, in the plasma samples), repeatability, and linearity. The developed method was applied to sheep plasma samples from a study examining the cardio active potential of the combination of adenosine and inosine.

The synthesis and characterization of a number of macrolides, structurally related with erythromycin, is described. These derivatives have been previously investigated for their ability to induce contractions and to displace bound motilin in rabbit duodenum.

A liquid chromatographic (LC) method for the analysis of erythromycin and related substances has been adapted from an isocratic method developed by Chepkwony et al. (2001). The suitability of the method for general application as a compendial (pharmacopoeia) method has been assessed by means of an interlaboratory (collaborative) study. The method involves LC separation on a XTerra C18 column kept at 65 degrees C and UV detection at 210 nm. Five laboratories, located in Europe and the United States (US), participated in the study. Four erythromycin samples were tested. The main components (erythromycin A (EA), erythromycin B (EB), erythromycin C (EC)) and the impurities were determined. The analysis of variance was carried out on the results of the five laboratories to evaluate the between-laboratory consistencies and the laboratory-sample interaction. The estimates for the repeatability and reproducibility of the method, expressed as relative standard deviation (RSD) of the result of the determination of EA, were calculated to be 0.8% and 1.4% respectively. It is concluded that the method examined is a good replacement for the methods currently described in the European Pharmacopoeia (Ph. Eur.) and the United States Pharmacopoeia (USP), especially for its enhanced selectivity.

Emtricitabine (FTC) is an antiretroviral compound that inhibits the HIV-1 reverse transcriptase. For the quantification of FTC related substances, a liquid chromatography (LC) method coupled with ultraviolet (UV) detection was developed earlier in our laboratory. Several unknown compounds were detected during the analysis of a commercial sample. However, most of these impurities were not characterized. In this study, impurity profiling in a selected FTC sample was done using LC-mass spectrometry (MS). Due to the presence of a non-volatile buffer, a desalting procedure was carried out before sending the impurity into the MS. Totally, nine peaks were studied and most of them could be characterized.

The present study describes the development and validation of a selective liquid chromatographic (LC) method for the analysis of tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) and its related substances. The gradient method uses a base deactivated C18 column (Hypersil BDS column; 25 cmx4.6 mm I.D.) maintained at a temperature of 30 degrees C. The mobile phases consist of acetonitrile, tetrabutylammonium/phosphate buffer pH 6.0 and water: (A; 2:20:78 v/v/v) and (B; 65:20:15 v/v/v). The flow rate is 1.0 mL/min and UV detection is performed at 260 nm. Good separation of TDF and 21 impurities was achieved. A system suitability test (SST) to check the quality of separation is also specified. The developed method was further validated with respect to robustness, precision, sensitivity and linearity. The method is proved to be robust, precise, sensitive and linear between 0.1 microg/mL and 0.15 mg/mL. The limit of detection and limit of quantification are 0.03 and 0.1 microg/mL, respectively. The method was successfully applied to the quantification of related substances and assay of commercial TDF samples (bulk substances and tablets).

The compound 2′,3′-dideoxyadenosine-5′-triphosphate (ddATP) is the intracellular active metabolite of the antiretroviral drug didanosine. Since micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography with fluorescence detection (MEKC-fluo) by means of precapillary derivatization allowed quantitation of ddATP only in pmol range, development of a more sensitive CE method was intended. CE preconcentration based on electrophoretic effects was tested for additional sensitivity enhancement. Large volume sample stacking (LVSS) using diethylenetriamine (DETA) as an EOF suppressant (ES) in combination with MEKC-fluo was found to be better, but the presence of excess unreacted reagent in the sample hindered the separation of the derivatized nucleotides. Some miscellaneous effects and precapillary derivatization of ddATP at low scale improved the sensitivity of the MEKC-fluo method by minimizing dilution of the sample, which allowed reaching the fmol level that can be found in cells (LOQ = 10 fmol/sample). However, cell st...

The adenine base of 2′,3′-dideoxyadenosine-5′-triphosphate (ddATP) was chosen as the target for precapillary derivatization for its analysis by CE with fluorescence detection. Several fluorophores, such as chloroacetaldehyde, 9-fluorenylmethyloxycarbonylchloride (FMOC), fluorescamine (Fluram), o-phthaldialdehyde (OPA) and complexation with terbium (Tb), gadolinium (Gd), and phenanthroline (phen) were tried. Precapillary derivatization of ddATP with chloroacetaldehyde showed poor peak shape for the e-ddATP adduct and degradation peaks of e-adenine, possibly due to the low sample pH of 4.0. Precapillary derivatization of ddATP with OPA/β-mercaptoethanol, Fluram, and FMOC showed no fluorescent derivatization products. Complexation of ddATP with Tb-Gd-phen produced a sharp fluorescent peak. The sensitivity of the Tb-Gd-ddATP-phen complex was found to be 20 times higher than UV detection of ddATP.

Streptomycin (SM) is composed of streptidine, streptose and N-methyl glucosamine sugar moieties. For the determination of SM and its related substances, an ion-pair LC-UV detection method using a Supelcosil LC-ABZ column was developed previously. While analyzing commercial samples, several unknown compounds were detected. Most of these compounds are not yet characterized. In this study, the above LC method was coupled to MS for impurity profiling in a selected commercial sample. However, it could not be directly coupled to MS due to the presence of the nonvolatile salt, buffer and ion-pair reagent in the mobile phase. So, for structural characterization, each peak eluted from the nonvolatile eluent system was collected and transferred to MS after the desalting process. In total, 16 compounds were studied, 15 compounds including 12 unknowns could be identified.

Dihydrostreptomycin sulphate (DHS) is a water-soluble, broad-spectrum aminoglycoside antibiotic. For quantitative analysis, the European Pharmacopoeia (Ph. Eur.) prescribes an ion-pairing liquid chromatography/ultraviolet (LC/UV) method using a C18 stationary phase. Several unknown compounds were detected in commercial samples. Hence, for characterization of these unknown peaks in a commercial DHS sample, the Ph. Eur. method was coupled to mass spectrometry (MS). However, since the Ph. Eur. method uses a non-volatile mobile phase, each peak eluted was collected and desalted before introduction into the mass spectrometer. The desalting procedure was applied to remove the non volatile salt, buffer and ion-pairing reagent in the collected fraction. In total, 20 impurities were studied and 14 of them were newly characterized. Five impurities which are already reported in the literature were also traced in this LC/UV method.

The rise of monolithic stationary phases offers to routine and research laboratories several advantages. In spite of their recent discovery, they have rapidly become highly popular separation media for liquid chromatography. Time reduction and economic reasons like e.g. a diminished use of mobile phase are the most important ones. At the same time, it was reported that these columns offer a faster and better separation. The aim of this article was to investigate the transferability of methods originally developed on conventional particle-packed C(18) columns (XTerra RP18 and Zorbax RX), onto the more recent monolithic columns. Both types, conventional particle-packed and monolithic columns, were able to separate tetracycline, oxytetracycline and chlortetracycline from their respective impurities with sufficient resolution, but showed remarkably shorter analysis times and lower backpressures, improving the lifetime of the column.

An in-line screening and an off-line chiral CE method were developed to determine the stereoselectivity of flavin-containing monooxygenase (FMO) isoforms using cimetidine (CIM) as a substrate. The S-oxygenation of CIM was investigated using achiral chemical oxidants and (human supersomes) enzymatic metabolism procedures. In the off-line setup, the chiral selector sulfobutylether-beta-CD was chosen to separate the CIM S-oxide (CSO) metabolites. The electrophoretic migration order of CSO was confirmed to be (+) before (-) through the use of single enantiomers obtained by preparative chromatography. For the electrophoretically mediated microanalysis method, the in-line enzymatic reaction was performed in 100 mM phosphate reaction buffer (pH 8.3), whereas 50 mM phosphate buffer with 30 mM chiral selector (pH 2.5) was used as a BGE. During the screening of FMO isoenzymes by the electrophoretically mediated microanalysis method, formation of the new chiral center on the CIM sulfur was found to be stereoselective. FMO1 produces more (-)-CSO-enantiomer, while FMO3 generates mainly (+)-CSO-enantiomer. On the other hand, FMO5 shows no activity. The kinetic constants of FMO1 and FMO3 were measured by the off-line method. A K(m)=4.31 mM for the formation of the (+)-CSO-enantiomer and a K(m)=4.56 mM for the (-)-CSO-enantiomer are reported for the first time for FMO1.

Selecting a reversed phase liquid chromatographic (RP-LC) column with suitable selectivity for a particular separation is difficult if the brand name of the column is not known. Monographs of the European Pharmacopoeia and other official compendia for drug analysis only give a general description of the stationary phase to be used for a liquid chromatographic method. A project to develop a chromatographic test procedure to characterise RP-LC C18 columns was started earlier and resulted in a fast, simple, repeatable, and reproducible test procedure. Four column parameters allowed the characterisation and ranking of these columns. In this paper, the separations of three drug substances (amlodipine, tetracaine, and bisacodyl) from their respective impurities were examined applied on 77 RP-LC columns. It was observed, that the column ranking system was helpful in the selection of a suitable column for the separation of amlodipineand tetracaine, but also showed its limitations towards the separation o...

A gradient LC method for the analysis of capreomycin sulfate and its related substances was developed. The chromatographic conditions include the use of a Hypersil base deactivated C 18 (250 mm × 4.6 mm, 5 μm) column maintained at 25 °C, a mobile phase containing acetonitrile, phosphate buffer pH 2.3 and 0.025 M hexanesulfonate at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min and UV detection performed at 268 nm. Good separation of the four active components of capreomycin and eleven unknown impurities was achieved. A system suitability test to check the quality of the separation is specified. The method shows good repeatability, linearity and robustness.

Clopidogrel bisulphate, an anti-platelet drug, has been separated from its impurities, namely impurity A, B and C by capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) using uncoated fused-silica capillary (50.0 microm internal diameter, 31.2cm total length). Four factors affected the separation: buffer concentration, pH of the buffer, concentration of the chiral selector and the applied voltage. Optimization and robustness studies were performed with the aid of reduced central composite experimental design. The buffer used was triethylamine-phosphoric acid and the chosen chiral selector was sulphated beta-cyclodextrin (SCD). The best separation was achieved by using 10mM buffer, pH 2.3, containing 5% (mass/volume (m/v)) SCD. Reversed polarity mode was used with an applied voltage of -12kV and the capillary temperature was maintained at 20 degrees C. The method was validated for quantitative determination of the drug. It offered a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.13 microg/ml, a limit of quantitation (LOQ) of 0.4 microg/ml, and a linearity range of 0.4-300 microg/ml. Commercial bulk samples were analyzed using the developed method.

The characterization of unknown impurities present in netilmicin and sisomicin by liquid chromatography (LC) coupled with mass spectrometry (MS) is described. The volatile ion-pairing agent trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) was used for the retention of the main compounds and their impurities on a reversed-phase (RP) C18 column, because they are highly hydrophilic and basic compounds. The method showed good separation between netilmicin and its four potential related substances prescribed in the European Pharmacopoeia, which were identified by comparison of their retention times with those of the reference substances. Furthermore, in total 16 unknown impurities in a netilmicin sample and six in a sisomicin sample with unknown identity were detected. The structures of the unknown compounds were deduced based on comparison of fragmentation patterns with those of the reference substances investigated in LC/MSn experiments by the use of electrospray ion trap mass spectrometry.

Out of three methods for the analysis of josamycin, the best one was selected and used as starting point for further development. A central composite design was applied to find the most influencing parameters and to optimize the chromatographic conditions and a full factorial design was used to perform a robustness study. The final method uses a Hypersil ODS column 5 μm, 250 mm × 4.6 mm i.d. maintained at 45 °C. The mobile phase is composed of acetonitrile–phosphate buffer (pH 3, 0.2 mol l −1 )–tetrabutylammonium hydrogen sulphate 0.2 mol l −1 –water (21:5:3:71, v/v/v/v). Strongly retained impurities after the main peak require gradient elution, which is obtained by increasing linearly the acetonitrile concentration (from 21% to 50%, v/v) and decreasing the TBA concentration (from 3% to 0%, v/v) in the mobile phase. The total run time was 65 min. UV detection is performed at 232 nm and the flow rate is 1 ml/min. The method shows good selectivity, precision, linearity and sensitivity. Five commercial bulk samples were analyzed.

d -cycloserine or d -4-amino-3-isoxazolidinone is an antibiotic produced by Streptomyces garyphalus and Streptomyces orchidaceus . d -Cycloserine is used in the second line treatment of tuberculosis and is often used in developing countries. Therefore, expensive high-tech techniques are not recommended for analysis. Here, a liquid chromatography method with ultraviolet detection (LC–UV) is described using a base deactivated column (Hypersil BDS column; 25 cm × 4.6 mm I.D.) kept at 45 °C. The gradient method uses mobile phases containing acetonitrile (ACN), 20 mM sodium octane sulphonate (SOS), 0.2 M potassium dihydrogen phosphate buffer pH 2.8, water: A: (4:70:10:16 v/v/v/v) and B: (17:70:10:3 v/v/v/v). The method proved to be robust, linear, repeatable, sensitive, selective and easy to perform. For the related substances test 50 μl of a 0.5 mg/ml d- cycloserine solution is injected. For assay, a concentration of 0.1 mg/ml is proposed to avoid overloading of the detector.

In order to study column deterioration as a result of long-term storage and/or usage in liquid chromatography analyses, 55 pairs (same batch) of different commercial reversed-phase C 18 columns were examined using an already existing column characterisation system. After initial testing, one column was stored and the other was used to analyse different pharmaceuticals. All columns were characterized by four chromatographic parameters reflecting hydrophobicity, silanol activity, metal impurity and steric selectivity at the beginning and at the end of the test. An F -value was calculated to express the change of column properties with one single number. After performing analyses, higher F -values were obtained as compared to the non-used, stored columns. Although the time during which the columns were used to perform analyses was relatively short, an obvious influence was noticed, mainly resulting from small changes in silanol activity and hydrophobicity. Most of the affected columns have no endcapping and/or no base deactivation, making them more vulnerable for degradation, resulting in higher silanol activity and faster ageing. This effect is observed less with columns equipped with polar-embedded groups and/or polar endcapping, protecting the column by blocking the silanol groups and attracting a shielding water layer. Also columns with higher coverages and bulky or long chains show more resistance towards degradation.

ERYTHROMYCIN A appears to be a motilin agonist, although motilin (a peptide) and erythromycin A (a 14-member macrolide antibiotic carrying two sugar substituents) are structurally totally unrelated. To obtain information concerning the structural requirements for erythromycin's interaction with the motilin receptor, we studied 60 derivatives and seven fragments of erythromycin, and six macrolides with a 16-member ring structure. For every compound the ability to displace motilin bound to a crude homogenate of rabbit antral smooth muscle tissue and the ability to induce contractions in rabbit duodenal segments were determined. For both parameters dose-response curves were obtained, and the negative logarithms of the concentrations inhibiting 50% of the binding (pIC-50) or inducing 50% of the maximum response to a maximal contractile dose of acetylcholine (pEC-50) were determined. All macrolides with a 16-member ring structure were inactive in both types of experiments. In all erythromycin derivatives variations of the ring structure had a marked effect. For both parameters the order of potency was enol ether > pseudo–enol ether > parent ring > pseudo-hemiketal > anhydro. The two sugars attached to the ring were important too, because removing either or both of them resulted in an inactive compound. Modifications of the dimethylamino group of the desosamine sugar affect the potency, while the orientation of the cladinose moiety seems to be important too. For all active compounds, both parameters studied were well correlated (r= 0.80, p < 0.001). Our results support the concept that erythomycin-like macrolides are motilin agonists. The structural requirements of these “motilides” involve the ring structure, especially the part that can be transformed into an enol ether, and both attached sugars. Potent derivatives may prove to be useful as gastrokinetic agents with a very specific target zone.

Protease inhibitors (PIs) are potent competitive inhibitors of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) widely used in the treatment of the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and prescribed in combination with other antiretroviral drugs. So far ten PIs were approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of HIV infection. In this mini review, quality control methods of each PI are discussed on the basis of analytical techniques published in the literature. Special attention is given to summarize the LC methods described for the analysis of the selected PIs in both drug substances and products with the available literature till date.

A useful column characterisation system should help chromatographers to select the most appropriate column to use, e.g. when a particular chromatographic column is not available or when facing the dilemma of selecting a suitable column for analysis according to an official monograph. Official monographs of the European Pharmacopoeia and the United States Pharmacopeia are not allowed to mention the brand name of the stationary phase used for the method development. Also given the overwhelming offer of several hundreds of commercially available reversed-phase liquid chromatographic columns, the choice of a suitable column could be difficult sometimes. To support rational column selection, a column characterisation study was started in our laboratory in 2000. In the same period, Euerby et al. also developed a column characterisation system, which is now released as Column Selector by ACD/Labs. The aim of this project was to compare the two existing column characterisation systems, i.e. the KUL system and the Euerby system. Other research groups active in this field will not be discussed here. Euerby et al. developed a column characterisation system based on 6 test parameters, while the KUL system is based on 4 chromatographic parameters. Comparison was done using a set of 63 columns. For 7 different pharmaceutical separations (fluoxetine, gemcitabine, erythromycin, tetracycline, tetracaine, amlodipine and bisacodyl), a ranking was built based on an F-value (KUL method) or Column Difference Factor value (Euerby method) versus a (virtual) reference column. Both methods showed a similar ranking. The KUL and Euerby methods do not perfectly match, but they yield very similar results, allowing with a relatively high certainty, the selection of similar or dissimilar columns as compared to a reference column. An analyst that uses either of the two methods, will end up with a similar ranking. From a practical point of view, it must be noted that the KUL method only includes 4 parameters and 3 chromatographic methods compared to 6 parameters and 4 methods for the Euerby method. Hence, the time needed to determine the chromatographic properties of a column is shorter for the KUL approach. Access to the KUL method also requires no download procedures.

Selecting a suitable reversed phase liquid chromatographic (RP-LC) column for a particular separation is complicated. More than 600 brands of C 18 columns are available on the market. Therefore, determining the characteristics influencing the selectivity of the different stationary phases is necessary. In this paper, three different methods to characterize RP-LC columns are compared. Hoogmartens et al. developed a column characterization system based on test methods from literature, which were reduced with principal component analysis (PCA), and led to four final chromatographic parameters. The second method studied is this of Euerby et al. who developed a column classification system using six parameters, based on the method of Tanaka and also applying PCA. The third method, developed by Snyder et al. is different from the other two. It uses five parameters, calculated by multiple linear regression from the retention data of 18 solutes. The suitability of the column classification systems was examined on pharmaceutical separations. It seems that all three methods can facilitate the selection of a suitable column for an analysis.

The selection of a reversed-phase liquid chromatographic column with suitable selectivity for a particular separation is difficult if the brand name of the column is not known. A project to develop a chromatographic test procedure to characterize reversed-phase liquid chromatography C18 columns was started earlier and resulted in a fast, simple, repeatable and reproducible test procedure using four column parameters. Here, this procedure is used to evaluate the diversity of columns originating from the same batch as well as from different batches. The determination of one of the parameters, the retention factor of 2,2'-dipyridyl, was improved and a simplified test procedure is proposed.

A selective and rapid capillary zone electrophoresis method for determination of the multicomponent aminoglycoside antibiotic gentamicin is described. Baseline separation of gentamicin C1, C1a, C2, C2a and C2b components was achieved with a background electrolyte containing 0.35 mM cetyl trimethylammonium bromide, 3% methanol and 90 mM sodium pyrophosphate (pH 7.4) and detected directly with UV detection without derivatization. Quantitative analysis was performed and illustrated the potential use of capillary electrophoresis for the identification and quantitation of gentamicin components, but the application of this method is limited to a gentamicin concentration range of 2–6 mg/ml.

A single gradient LC method for the determination of related substances in both saquinavir (SQV), saquinavir mesilate (SQVM) has been published in a consultation document of the International Pharmacopoeia, WHO Drug Information. The method uses a base deactivated reversed phase C18 column (25 cm x 4.6 mm i.d.), 5 microm kept at a temperature of 30 degrees C. The mobile phases consist of acetonitrile, methanol, phosphate buffer pH 3.4 and water. The flow rate is 1.0 ml/min. UV detection is performed at 220 nm. A system suitability test (SST) is described to govern the quality of the separation. The separation towards SQV(M) components was investigated on 18 C18 columns and correlation was made with the column classification system developed in our laboratory. The method was evaluated using a Hypersil BDS C18 column (25 cm x 4.6 mm i.d.), 5 microm. A central composite design was applied to examine the robustness of the method. The method shows good precision, linearity, sensitivity and robustness. SQV(M) commercial samples of bulk drugs were examined using this method.