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A method based on micellar liquid chromatography has been developed to determine rosuvastatin, lovastatin and simvastatin in oral solid dosage forms. Samples were solved in mobile phase up to the target concentration, filtered and directly injected. The three statins were resolved in 30 min, using an aqueous solution of 0.10 M sodium dodecyl sulfate - 7.0% 1-butanol, buffered at pH 3 with 0.01 M phosphate salt as mobile phase, running under isocratic mode at 1 mL/min through a C 18 column. Detection was at 240 nm. The effect of sodium dodecyl sulfate on elution strength was more important than that of the organic solvent. The procedure was successfully validated by the guidelines of the International Council for Harmonization in terms of: specificity, linearity (r 2 > 0.990), calibration range (1.5 - 15 mg/L for rosuvastatin, 0.5-10 mg/L for lovastatin and simvastatin), limit of detection (0.4, 0.2 and 0.15 mg/L for rosuvastatin, lovastatin and simvastatin, respectively), trueness (98.8-101.7%), precision (<2.7%), carry-over effect, robustness, and stability. Values were inside the acceptance criteria of the Methods, Method Verification and Validation, Food and Drug Administration-Office of Regulatory Affairs, thus ensuring the reliability of the results. The main feature was the low proportion of organic solvent used, thus making the procedure sustainable and green. Besides, it was easy-to-conduct and with high sample-throughput, and then useful for routine analysis in pharmaceutical quality control. Finally, it was applied to commercial pharmaceutical preparations., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Understanding the interactions between drugs and lipid membranes is a prerequisite for finding the optimal way to deliver drugs into cells. Coadministration of statins and anticancer agents has been reported to have a positive effect on anticancer therapy. In this study, we elucidate the mechanism by which simvastatin (SIM) improves the efficiency of biological membrane penetration by the chemotherapeutic agent doxorubicin (DOX) in neutral and slightly acidic solutions. The incorporation of DOX, SIM, or a combination of them (DOX:SIM) into selected single-component lipid membranes, zwitterionic unsaturated 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl- sn -glycero-3-phosphocholine (POPC), neutral cholesterol, and negatively charged 1,2-dimyristoyl- sn -glycero-3-phospho-l-serine (DMPS) was assessed using the Langmuir method. The penetration of neutral lipid monolayers by the codelivery of SIM and DOX was clearly facilitated at pH 5.5, which resembles the pH conditions of the environment of cancer cells. This effect was ascribed to partial neutralization of the DOX positive charge as the result of intermolecular interactions between DOX and SIM. On the other hand, the penetration of the negatively charged DMPS monolayer was most efficient in the case of the positively charged DOX. The efficiency of the drug delivery to the cell membranes was evaluated under in vitro conditions using a panel of cancer-derived cell lines (A172, T98G, and HeLa). MTS and trypan blue exclusion assays were performed, followed by confocal microscopy and spheroid culture tests. Cells were exposed to either free drugs or drugs encapsulated in lipid carriers termed cubosomes. We demonstrated that the viability of cancer cells exposed to DOX was significantly impaired in the presence of SIM, and this phenomenon was greatly magnified when DOX and SIM were coencapsulated in cubosomes. Overall, our results confirmed the utility of the DOX:SIM combination delivery, which enhances the interactions between neutral components of cell membranes and positively charged chemotherapeutic agents.

This study reports electrochemical treatment of different therapeutic classes of pharmaceuticals (caffeine, prazosin, enalapril, carbamazepine, nifedipine, levonorgestrel, and simvastatin) in a mixture. The electrochemical process was investigated using graphite-PVC anode at different applied voltages (3, 5, and 12 V), initial concentrations of studied pharmaceuticals in aqueous solution (5 and 10 mg/L), and concentrations of sodium chloride (1 and 2 g/L). The % removal of pharmaceuticals increased with the applied voltage, and was found higher than 98% after 50 min of electrolysis at 5 V. Energy consumption ranged between 0.760 and 3.300 Wh/mg using 12 V being the highest value compared to 3 and 5 V. The formation of chlorinated by-products from four selected pharmaceuticals, simvastatin (C11H13Cl3O5, and C10H12Cl4O3), prazosin (C13H12Cl3N5O3 and C10H11Cl4N2O2), carbamazepine and caffeine (C15H11N2O2Cl and C8H9N4O2Cl) was identified and elucidated using liquid chromatography-time of flight mass spectrometry (LC-TOF/MS).

A novel high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was developed and validated to simultaneously analyse all statins currently available globally (atorvastatin, fluvastatin, lovastatin, mevastatin, pitavastatin, pravastatin, rosuvastatin, simvastatin). A Venusil XBP C 18 (2) reverse phase column (150 x 4.6 mm) with a 5 μm particle size was used. The gradient conditions started at 25% acetonitrile, which linearly increased to 90% after 1.0 min, held at 90% until 6.5 min, and lastly, re-equilibrated to starting conditions. The mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile/water and 0.005 M (0.2%) octane sulphonic acid-Na (pH 3.5). The flow rate was set at 1.0 ml/min with a 10 μl injection volume. The HPLC method indicated linearity ( R² =0.9999) within the concentration range of 0.2-206.4 μg/ml. The limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) values were found to be within the permissible criteria of ≤15% and ≤20%, respectively. Following an appropriate investigation of all the parameters for method validation, it was confirmed that the HPLC method was successfully validated and proven to be accurate to simultaneously quantify statins even in combination with other excipients used during the formulation of nano-emulsions and nano-emulgels.

The aim of this study was to develop a disposable, simple, fast, and sensitive sensor for the simultaneous electrochemical detection of doxorubicin (DOX) and simvastatin (SMV), which could be used in preclinical studies for the development of new pharmaceutical formulations for drug delivery. Firstly, the electrochemical behavior of each molecule was analyzed regarding the influence of electrode material, electrolyte solution, and scan rate. After this, the proper electrode material, electrolyte solution, and scan rate for both active substances were chosen, and a linear sweep voltammetry procedure was optimized for simultaneous detection. Two chronoamperometry procedures were tested, one for the detection of DOX in the presence of SMV, and the other one for the detection of DOX and SMV together. Finally, calibration curves for DOX and SMV in the presence of each other were obtained using both electrochemical methods and the results were compared. The use of amperometry allowed for a better limit of detection (DOX: 0.1 μg/mL; SMV: 0.7 μg/mL) than the one obtained in voltammetry (1.5 μg/mL for both drugs). The limits of quantification using amperometry were 0.5 μg/mL for DOX (dynamic range: 0.5-65 μg/mL) and 2 μg/mL for SMV (dynamic range: 2-65 μg/mL), while using voltammetry 1 μg/mL was obtained for DOX (dynamic range: 1-100 μg/mL) and 5 μg/mL for SMV (dynamic range: 5-100 μg/mL). This detection strategy represents a promising tool for the analysis of new pharmaceutical formulations for targeted drug delivery containing both drugs, whose association was proven to bring benefits in the treatment of cancer.

Herein, UV spectrophotometry assisted by multivariate chemometric analysis have been presented for quantitative determination of complex quinary therapy containing atenolol, ramipril, hydrochlorothiazide, simvastatin and aspirin without any prior separation. Such combination is very useful for treating various cardiovascular diseases (CVD) including high blood pressure, hypercholesterolemia in addition to its antiplatelet aggregating activity. Calibration (15 samples) and validation (10 samples) sets were prepared of different concentrations for these drugs via implementing partial factorial experimental design. The zero order UV spectra of these sets were recorded and then subjected for further chemometric analysis. Partial least square (PLS) with/without variable selection procedure i.e. genetic algorithm (GA) were employed to untangle the UV spectral overlapping of these mixtures. The performance of these chemometric techniques were compared in terms of accuracy and predictive abilities using cross-validation and external validation methods. It was found that PLS provides good recoveries with prompt predictive ability albeit GA-PLS exhibited better analytical performance owing to its capability to remove redundant variables i.e. the number of absorbance variables had been reduced to about 19-28%. The developed methods allowed reliable determination of such complex therapy in its laboratory prepared mixtures and pharmaceutical preparation within comparable results to those reported by HPLC method, posing these chemometric methods as valuable and indispensable analytical tools in in-process testing and quality control analysis of many pharmaceutical compounds targeting CVD., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

FTIR spectrometry is considered a sustainable green analytical chemistry procedure. Its use in quantitative analysis of pharmaceutical compounds in their raw resources and in their dosage forms is growing currently. The current research offers an environment-friendly, speedy, cost-effective, reliable and easy method for the simultaneous estimation of anti-hyperlipidemic drugs. No sample preparation was required except for grinding and mixing with KBr for making pellets used for acquisition of the FT-IR spectra. First-derivative FTIR spectroscopy is used to assess quantitatively atorvastatin (ATR), rosuvastatin (RSV) and simvastatin (SMV) in their binary mixtures with ezetimibe (EZT). For the first mixture, EZT and ATR were determined at 1733.18 cm -1 and 1647.74 cm -1 , respectively. In the second mixture, the zero-crossing wave numbers selected for the determination of EZT and RSV were 1733.18 cm -1 and 955.69 cm -1 , correspondingly. Whereas, the third mixture was quantified at the wavenumbers of 1520.93 and 3569.68 cm -1 for EZT and SMV, respectively. Validation of the procedure has been performed complying with recommendations of the International Conference of Harmonization (ICH) presenting linearity, accuracy, precision, robustness and selectivity. The linear range for all drugs was 2-30 mg/g. It was found that the LOD was 0.607, 0.311, 0.491 and 0.395 mg/g and the LOQ was found to be 1.839, 0.942, 1.490 and 1.190 mg/g for EZT, ATR, RSV, and SMV, correspondingly. The proposed technique was found to be accurate and precise in terms of percentage error and percentage relative standard deviation among intraday and interday measurements. It was also found selective through comparison of the results of standard drugs with results of binary mixtures and of pharmaceutical tablets. It was found robust through making slight variations in the working conditions and the results obtained remained statistically equivalent. The technique was applied effectively for the estimation of the binary mixtures under study in their tablets. Comparing the found outcomes to those of reference derivative UV spectrophotometric methods gave no significant difference between them. Analytical eco-scale and the scale of Green Analytical Procedure Index (GAPI) are the two scales utilized for evaluation of the greenness of the technique and it was found to be excellent green., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

A novel HPLC method with UV detection was developed and validated in skin penetration (in vitro) studies to identify and quantify lovastatin, mevastatin, rosuvastatin and simvastatin. A Venusil XBP C 18 (2), 150 x 4.6 mm, 5 μm column (Agela Technologies, Newark, DE) was used with gradient elution (start at 45 % acetonitrile and increase linearly to 90 % after 1 min; hold at 90 % until 6 min and then re-equilibrate at start conditions) and the mobile phase consisted of (A) Milli-Q ® water and 0.1% orthophosphoric acid, and (B) HPLC grade acetonitrile. The flow rate was set at 1 ml/min, 240 nm UV detection and an injection volume of 10 μl. Linearity was obtained over a range of 0.50-200.00 μg/ml and correlation coefficients ranging from 0.998-1.000 were obtained. Average recovery ranged from 95.9-100.6 %. The LOD and LOQ values obtained from the slope of a calibration curve and the standard deviation of the response ranged from 0.0138-0.0860 μg/ml and 0.0419-0.2615 μg/ml, respectively, where lovastatin and simvastatin could be detected at a concentration similar to the other statins, but could only be quantified at a higher concentration than the remaining statins. The specificity of the method was proved as accurate and quantification of statins was found, even within the incorporation of other compounds.

New psychoactive substances (NPS) are still an emerging issue in clinical and forensic toxicology. Information about their cytotoxic potential is limited or even unavailable before distribution and thus their intake can be of high risk for consumers. The aim of the presented study was to develop a strategy to identify cytotoxic potential of NPS based on a high content screening assay (HCSA) using HepG2 cell line and four fluorescent dyes, namely Hoechst33342, TMRM, CAL-520, and TOTO-3. The HCSA was optimized to work without an automated analyzer by using the model compounds fluvastatin, paracetamol, propranolol, and simvastatin. The following parameters were monitored: stained nuclei as a measure for cell count as well as nuclear size and nuclear intensity (all Hoechst33342), mitochondrial membrane potential (TMRM), cytosolic calcium level (CAL-520), and plasma membrane integrity (TOTO-3). The present study showed strong cytotoxic potential for the NPS 5F-PB-22 and MDAI, moderate effects for MDMA, MDPV, methylone, cathinone, 4-MEC, and mephedrone, and no toxic effects for methamphetamine. To assess the metabolic suitability of HepG2 cells under the chosen conditions, cell culture supernatants were analyzed by liquid chromatography-high resolution-tandem mass spectrometry. Metabolites were merely detected for lipophilic drugs such as 5F-PB-22 and MDPV and in addition with a much lower abundance in comparison to the parent compound but the study only allowed a qualitative look for metabolites and the used liver cell line might not ideal when considering metabolism., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The multivariate method, partial least-squares (PLS), was used as a calibration procedure for the simultaneous UV spectrophotometric determination of ezetimibe and simvastatin in their pharmaceutical forms. The method was developed and satisfactorily validated according to International Conference on Harmonization guidelines with respect to specificity, linearity, precision, accuracy, and robustness. In this study, the PLS algorithms are based on the absorption spectra of 25 different mixtures of drugs obtained by a multilevel factorial design. The method was linear in the concentration range of 2-8 μg/mL for ezetimibe and 4-16 μg/mL for simvastatin (r2 > 0.99; n = 7) at wavelengths of 238 and 247 nm, respectively. The LOD and LOQ were 0.28 and 0.93 μg/mL for ezetimibe and 0.16 and 0.53 μg/mL for simvastatin, respectively. Precision and accuracy data, evaluated by RSD, were lower than 2%. The method, which proved to be robust, was performed with a 2n full-factorial design. The validated method is simple and low cost, has a low use of polluting reagents, and is environmental friendly. Therefore, the proposed method was successfully applied for the simultaneous quantitative analysis of ezetimibe and simvastatin in commercial formulations.

The natural alkaloid berberine has been ascribed numerous health benefits including lipid and cholesterol reduction and improved insulin sensitivity in diabetics. However, oral (PO) administration of berberine is hindered by poor bioavailability and increasing dose often elicits gastro-intestinal side effects. To overcome the caveats associated with oral berberine, we developed transdermal (TD) formulations of berberine (BBR) and the berberine precursor dihydroberberine (DHB). These formulations were compared to oral BBR using pharmacokinetics, metabolism, and general safety studies in vivo. To complete this work, a sensitive quantitative LC-MS/MS method was developed and validated according the FDA guidelines for bioanalytical methods to simultaneously measure berberine, simvastatin, and simvastatin hydroxy acid with relative quantification used for the berberine metabolite demethylene berberine glucuronide (DBG). Acute pharmacokinetics in Sprague-Dawley rats demonstrated a statistically relevant ranking for berberine bioavailability based upon AUC0-8 as DHB TD > BBR TD >> BBR PO with similar ranking for the metabolite DBG, indicating that transdermal administration achieves BBR levels well above oral administration. Similarly, chronic administration (14 days) resulted in significantly higher levels of circulating BBR and DBG in DHB TD treated animals. Chronically treated rats were given a single dose of simvastatin with no observed change in the drugs bioavailability compared with control, suggesting the increased presence of BBR had no effect on simvastatin metabolism. This observation was further supported by consistent CYP3A4 expression across all treatment groups. Moreover, no changes in kidney and liver biomarkers, including alanine aminotransferase and alkaline phosphatase, were observed between treatment formats, and confirming previous reports that BBR has no effect on HMG-CoA expression. This study supports the safe use of transdermal compositions that improve on the poor bioavailability of oral berberine and have the potential to be more efficacious in the treatment of dyslipidemia or hypercholesterolemia.

A new LC method is introduced with the concept of its versatile application to widely used drugs from different pharmacological classes. Metformin hydrochloride (MTF), sitagliptin phosphate (SIT), simvastatin (SIM) and ezetimibe (EZB) were simultaneously determined with a simple reversed-phase LC method in which a SIT-SIM binary mixture, present in a dosage form brand, was considered central for its development. Chromatographic separation was achieved with a mobile phase of acetonitrile and 0.02 M potassium dihydrogen phosphate (pH 5.2) (77 + 23, v/v) flowing through a C18 column (BDS Hypersil, 250 × 4.6 mm, 5 µm) at 1.2 mL/min at ambient temperature. UV detection was programmed to be carried out at 210 nm for EZB, SIT, and MTF, whereas SIM was detected at 240 nm. The method was validated according to International Conference on Harmonization guidelines. Linearity, accuracy, and precision were satisfactory over concentration ranges 4-40 µg/mL for EZB and SIM, 0.5-50 µg/mL for SIT, and 5-500 µg/mL for MTF. Coefficients of determination were >0.99 for the four drugs. LOQs found were 0.01 µg/mL for EZB, 0.02 µg/mL for SIT, 0.2 µg/mL for MTF, and 0.02 µg/mL for SIM. The developed method is simple, rapid, accurate, precise, and suitable for the routine QC analysis of the cited drugs in pharmaceutical products by conventional HPLC systems.

Sensitive, simple, reliable and rapid HPLC technique for the estimation of simvastatin (SMV) and cetirizine has been designed in this study. The chromatographic conditions were set using Shimadzu LC-10 AT VP pump, with UV detector (SPD-10 AV-VP). System integration was performed with CBM-102 (Bus Module). Partitioning of components was attained with pre-packed C-18 column of Purospher Star (5 μm, 250 x 4.6 mm) at ambient conditions. Injected volume of sample was 10 μl. Mobile phase was composed of 50:50 v/v ratio of Acetonitrile/water (pH 3.0 adjusted with ortho-phosphoric acid) having 2 ml/minutes rate of flow. Compounds were detected in UV region at 225 nm. Percent Recovery of simvastatin was observed in the range of 98-102%. All results were found in accept table range of specification. The projected method is consistent, specific, precise, and rapid, that can be employed to quantitate the SMV along with cetirizine HCl. It was estimated by 3 successive cycles of freeze and thaw stability. Results of FT samples were found within accept table limits the method was developed and validated in raw materials, bulk formulations and final drug products.

Background: The development and introduction of combined therapy represent a challenge for analysis due to severe overlapping of their UV spectra in case of spectroscopy or the requirement of a long tedious and high cost separation technique in case of chromatography. Quality control laboratories have to develop and validate suitable analytical procedures in order to assay such multi component preparations., Methods: New spectrophotometric methods for the simultaneous determination of simvastatin (SIM) and nicotinic acid (NIA) in binary combinations were developed. These methods are based on chemometric treatment of data, the applied chemometric techniques are multivariate methods including classical least squares (CLS), principal component regression (PCR) and partial least squares (PLS). In these techniques, the concentration data matrix were prepared by using the synthetic mixtures containing SIM and NIA dissolved in ethanol. The absorbance data matrix corresponding to the concentration data matrix was obtained by measuring the absorbance at 12 wavelengths in the range 216 - 240 nm at 2 nm intervals in the zero-order. The spectrophotometric procedures do not require any separation step. The accuracy, precision and the linearity ranges of the methods have been determined and validated by analyzing synthetic mixtures containing the studied drugs., Conclusion: Chemometric spectrophotometric methods have been developed in the present study for the simultaneous determination of simvastatin and nicotinic acid in their synthetic binary mixtures and in their mixtures with possible excipients present in tablet dosage form. The validation was performed successfully. The developed methods have been shown to be accurate, linear, precise, and so simple. The developed methods can be used routinely for the determination dosage form., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.)

A monolithic drug-in-NLC-in-adhesive transdermal patch, with a novel design, was developed for codelivery of olanzapine (OL) and simvastatin (SV). Nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC) and enhancers were used as passive strategies, while the pretreatment of the skin with Dermaroller was tested as an active approach. The formulation was optimized for composition in a quality by design basis, in terms of enhancer and adhesive, with focus on permeation behavior, adhesion properties, and cytotoxicity. Propylene glycol promoted the best permeation rate for both drugs, with enhancement ratios of 8.1 and 12.9 for OL and SV, respectively, relative to the corresponding Combo-NLC patch without enhancer. Molecular dynamics results provided a rationale for these observations. The adhesive type displayed an important role in skin permeation, reinforced by the presence of the enhancer. Finally, Dermaroller pretreatment did not promote a significant improvement in permeation, which highlights the role of the combination of NLC with chemical enhancer in the transdermal patch as the main driving force in the process. It is also observed that NLC are able to reduce cytotoxicity, especially that associated with SV. This work provides a promising in vitro-in silico basis for a future in vivo development.

Purpose: To prepare electrospun simvastatin/polycaprolactone(SMV/PCL) membrane scaffolds and to evaluate the release properties of this formulation., Methods: Electrospun SMV/PCL membrane scaffolds were prepared as the experimental group, and electrospun PCL membrane as the control group. The morphology and characteristics of membrane surface were determined by scanning electron microscopic(SEM) and X-ray diffraction(XRD). The release profile of SMV was determined using an ultraviolet-visible spectrometer. The data were analyzed statistically with SPSS 17.0 software package., Results: SEM and XRD indicated that SMV/PCL nanofibers were successfully electrospun and SMV was encapsulated into the fibers. In vitro drug release studies showed that simultaneous SMV release, being nearly linear with time, was achieved and sustained SMV release was prolonged to 28 days., Conclusions: Electrospun SMV/PCL nanofiber membranes demonstrate sustained drug release properties, suggesting their potential applicability as prospective scaffolds in periodontal regeneration.

A simple, selective, sensitive and high-throughput liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS) method has been developed and validated for the simultaneous quantification of simvastatin (SS), simvastatin acid (SSA, active metabolite of SS) and ezetimibe (EZM) in K2 EDTA containing human plasma, using simvastatin D6, simvastatin acid D3 and ezetimibe D4 as internal standards (ISTDs), respectively. A volume of plasma sample of only 400 µL was processed by the solid phase extraction technique; then 20 µL of processed sample was run on a Phenomenex, Kinetix XB C18, 150 × 4.6 mm, 5 µm column using an isocratic mobile phase consisting of 10 mM ammonium formate buffer (pH 4.0 ± 0.3): acetonitrile (27 : 73, v/v) with a run time of 6.3 min. The precursor and product ions of SSA, EZM and their ISTDs were monitored on a triple quadrupole instrument operated in the negative ionization mode, and SS was monitored in the positive mode. The method was validated over a concentration range of 0.2-80 ng/mL for SS, 0.1-60 ng/mL for SSA and 0.05-15 ng/mL for EZM. The method has been successfully applied in clinical pharmacokinetic study in the Indian population. The Cmax, AUC0-inf and Tmax values obtained in our study were 10.61 ± 5.287, 77.58 ± 29.367 and 1.62 ± 0.436 for EZM; 69.74 ± 45.274, 190.71 ± 107.271 and 1.74 ± 0.480 for SS; and 25.36 ± 23.576, 139.24 ± 131.653 and 3.95 ± 0.671 for SSA, respectively., (© The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Two simple, accurate, precise, sensitive and economic spectrophotometric methods were developed for the simultaneous determination of Simvastatin and Ezetimibe in fixed dose combination products without prior separation. The first method depends on a new chemometrics-assisted ratio spectra derivative method using moving window polynomial least square fitting method (Savitzky-Golay filters). The second method is based on a simple modification for the ratio subtraction method. The suggested methods were validated according to USP guidelines and can be applied for routine quality control testing., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

A high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC-UV) based simple and specific method for simultaneous quantitative determination of aspirin, amlodipine besylate and simvastatin in a capsule formulation has been developed and validated according to ICH guidelines. Chromatographic separation of the three drugs was carried out by aSpherisorbODS2 reverse phase column (4.6 x 250 mm; 5 μm) using amobile phase, which consisted of 70: 30 (v/v) mixture of acetonitrile and triethylamine phosphate buffer (pH 3; 0.015 M) with final pH adjusted to 2.5 using dilute ortho-phosphoric acid, at a flow rate of 1mL/min. The eluents were detected at UV wavelength of 237 nm and the retention times for aspirin, amlodipine besylate and simvastatin were ~2.7 mins, ~6.1 mins and ~10.5mins, respectively. This method is suitable and specific for the three drugs and was found to be linear (R2>0.995), accurate, specific, reproducible and robust in the concentration range of 375 to 1125mcg/ml for aspirin, 25 to 75mcg/ml for amlodipine besylate and 50 to 150mcg/ml for simvastatin. This simple and convenient method could be easily utilized for the characterization and quantitation of the three drugs in a single formulation for combination therapy of cardiovascular diseases.

A simple, rapid, and sensitive RP-HPLC method using photodiode array detection was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of butylhydroxyanisol and simvastatin with its impurities in tablet forms. Chromatographic separation was achieved on a Phenomenex Hypersil (250×4.6 mm, 5 μm) column using the mobile phase acetonitrile-sodium acetate (12 mM) buffered to 4.2 with glacial acetic acid. The flow rate was 1.7 mL/min, and the UV detection were made at 238 nm for simvastatin and its impurities and at 290 nm for butylhydroxyanisol. The system suitability solution used for peak impurity identification was generated in-situ without use of any impurity reference standard. The method was validated according to ICH Q2(R1) guidelines, and the acceptance criteria for accuracy, precision, linearity, specificity, robustness, LOD, and LOQ, were met in all cases. Moreover, the reproducibility results obtained by 22 Official Medicines Control Laboratories (OMCL) of European Directorate were satisfactory. The compounds selected for impurity validation were based on those found during long term and accelerate stability studies carried out on several formulation tablets from Moroccan and other markets. The described method was robust and successfully applied in quality control laboratories for routine analysis to determine the butylhydroxyanisol and simvastatin with its impurities content in tablet dosage forms., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Four simple, specific, accurate and precise spectrophotometric methods manipulating ratio spectra were developed and validated for simultaneous determination of simvastatin (SM) and ezetimibe (EZ) namely; extended ratio subtraction (EXRSM), simultaneous ratio subtraction (SRSM), ratio difference (RDSM) and absorption factor (AFM). The proposed spectrophotometric procedures do not require any preliminary separation step. The accuracy, precision and linearity ranges of the proposed methods were determined, and the methods were validated and the specificity was assessed by analyzing synthetic mixtures containing the cited drugs. The four methods were applied for the determination of the cited drugs in tablets and the obtained results were statistically compared with each other and with those of a reported HPLC method. The comparison showed that there is no significant difference between the proposed methods and the reported method regarding both accuracy and precision., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

For religious reasons, Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs can refuse treatment with a drug of animal origin. However, the origin is not always explicit and it is impossible to obtain the relevant information in a clinical situation. The aim of this study was to clarify whether it is possible to obtain information about animal products in medicines and thereby determine if it is possible for physicians to obtain informed consent from patients.

The use of dried blood spot (DBS) collection cards was investigated for the quantification of three therapeutic drugs used in cardiovascular therapy for assessing medication adherence. A liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) method was developed and validated for the determination of bisoprolol, ramipril and simvastatin. Whole blood spiked with target analytes was used to produce 30 μl blood spots on specimen collection cards. An 8mm disc was cut from the dried blood spot and extracted using methanol: water (70:30, v/v) containing the internal standard, atenolol. Extracts were vortexed, sonicated and then centrifuged. Gradient chromatographic elution was achieved using a Zorbax Eclipse C18 HD 100 mm × 2.1 mm, 1.8 μm pore size column and a mobile phase flow rate of 0.6 ml/min and the column oven temperature at 40 °C with a run time of 3 min. MS detection was carried out in electrospray positive ion mode for the three target drugs and for the IS. Drug recoveries from spiked blood spots were ≥ 92% for bisoprolol and ramipril and ~43% for simvastatin and the drugs were stable in DBS for at least 12 weeks. Validation of the LC-HRMS method showed good linearity and the accuracy (relative error) and precision (coefficient of variation) values were within the pre-defined limits of ≤ 15% at all concentrations. Matrix effects and the effects of different volumes of blood applied to the collection card were investigated. The LC-HRMS method successfully identified control volunteers who were known to be either adherent or non-adherent. There were no false positives from volunteers taking other cardiovascular drugs or from volunteers receiving no medication., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The generation of key drug metabolites for the purpose of their complete structural characterization, toxicity testing, as well as to serve as standards for quantitative studies, is a critical step in the pharmaceutical discovery and development cycle. Here, we utilized electrochemistry/mass spectrometry for the detection and subsequent generation of six phase I metabolites of simvastatin and lovastatin. Both simvastatin and lovastatin are widely used for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia. There are known drug-drug interaction issues of statin therapy, and it has been suggested that the oxidative metabolites may contribute to the cholesterol-lowering effect of both statins. Of the known phase I metabolites of simvastatin and lovastatin, none are commercially available, and chemical means for the synthesis of a very few of them have been previously reported. Here, we report that electrochemical oxidation of less than 1 mg each of simvastatin and lovastatin led to the generation of three oxidative metabolites of each parent to allow complete nuclear magnetic resonance characterization of all six metabolites. The yields obtained by the electrochemical approach were also compared with incubation of parent drug with commercially available bacterial mutant CYP102A1 enzymes, and it was found that the electrochemical approach gave higher yields than the enzymatic oxidations for the generation of most of the observed oxidative metabolites in this study.

Statins are effective and often-prescribed drugs for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia. This study shows a simple and fast method validation by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography in the linear range 28 to 52 µg/mL to quantify lovastatin, pravastatin sodium or simvastatin in bulk drug or dosage forms. Statins were determined using a C8 endcapped column (250 × 4 mm, 5 µm), isocratic mobile phase of acetonitrile and 0.1% phosphoric acid (65:35), 30°C, ultraviolet-diode array detection at λ 238 nm and 1.5 mL/min flow for lovastatin and simvastatin and 1.0 mL/min for pravastatin sodium. The developed method is fast, simple, reliable and shows appropriate linearity (r > 0.999), accuracy (98.8-101.6%), precision (relative standard deviation <2%) and selectivity toward placebo and/or degradation products in very similar chromatographic conditions for all statins.

Aim: To evaluate the non-invasive collection of bile from healthy human subjects for the qualitative characterization of the biliary disposition of a drug, using spectrometric techniques., Methods: Twenty subjects underwent non-invasive bile capture using a peroral string test (Entero-Test) device prior to and following a single oral dose of simvastatin (80 mg). The device, consisting of a weighted gelatin capsule containing a highly absorbent nylon string, was swallowed by each subject with the proximal end of the string taped to the face. Once the weighted string was judged to have reached the duodenum, gallbladder contraction was stimulated in order to release bile. The string was then retrieved via the mouth, and bile samples were analysed for drug-related material using spectrometric and spectroscopic techniques following solvent extraction., Results: Numerous metabolites of simvastatin were detected, and the major metabolites were consistent with those reported from studies where bile was collected using invasive techniques from patients dosed with [(14) C]-simvastatin., Conclusions: The results from this study demonstrate the utility of deploying the Entero-Test in human studies to provide structural information on biliary metabolites. This can be readily applied in drug development studies, including those in the target patient population and may eliminate the need for more invasive sampling techniques., (© 2011 The Authors. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology © 2011 The British Pharmacological Society.)

Two spectrophotometric methods are presented for the simultaneous determination of ezetimibe/simvastatin and ezetimibe/atorvastatin binary mixtures in combined pharmaceutical dosage forms without prior separation. The first is the derivative ratio method where the amplitudes of the first derivative of the ratio spectra ((1) DD) at 299.5 and 242.5 nm were found to be linear with ezetimibe and simvastatin concentrations in the ranges 0.5-20 µgml(-1) and 1-40 µgml(-1) , respectively, whereas the amplitudes of the first derivative of the ratio spectra ((1) DD) at 289.5 and 288 nm were selected to determine ezetimibe and atorvastatin in the concentration ranges 5-50 µgml(-1) and 1-40 µgml(-1) , respectively. The second is the H-point standard additions method; absorbances at the two pairs of wavelengths, 228 and 242 nm or 238 and 248 nm, were monitored while adding standard solutions of ezetimibe or simvastatin, respectively. For the analysis of ezetimibe/atorvastatin mixture, absorbance values at 226 and 248 nm or 212 and 272 nm were monitored while adding standard solutions of ezetimibe or atorvastatin, respectively. Moreover, differential spectrophotometry was applied for the determination of ezetimibe in the two mixtures without any interference from the co-existing drug. This was performed by measurement of the difference absorptivities (ΔA) of ezetimibe in 0.07 M 30% methanolic NaOH relative to that of an equimolar solution in 0.07 M 30% methanolic HCl at 246 nm. The described methods are simple, rapid, precise and accurate for the determination of these combinations in synthetic mixtures and dosage forms., (Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

The effects of the concentration of surfactant, co-surfactant and lipophilic organic solvent and the pH value of mobile phase on the retention behavior of statins in microemulsion liquid chromatography have been investigated using pravastatin sodium, atorvastatin calcium, lovastatin and simvastatin as model compounds. The experimental results showed that the effects of the concentration of surfactant, co-surfactant and lipophilic organic solvent on the retention behavior of statins in microemulsion liquid chromatography were fully consistent with the theoretical modeling. The effect of the pH value of the mobile phase on the retention behavior of acid statins was fully consistent with the theoretical modeling. The relationship between the retention factor of neutral statins and the concentration of hydrogen ion was an implicit function. The retention modeling can reflect the effect of composition of microemulsion solution on the retention behavior of statins drugs.

Simple, accurate, sensitive, and precise UV spectrophotometric, chemometric, and HPLC methods were developed for simultaneous determination of a two-component drug mixture of ezetimibe (EZ) and simvastatin (SM) in laboratory-prepared mixtures and a combined tablet dosage form. Four spectrophotometric methods were developed, namely, ratio spectra derivative, ratio subtraction, isosbestic point, and mean centering of ratio spectra. The developed chemometric-assisted spectrophotometric method was the concentration residual augmented classical least-squares method; its prediction ability was assessed and compared to the conventional partial least-squares method. The developed HPLC method used an RP ZORBAX C18 column (5 microm particle size, 250 x 4.6 mm id) with isocratic elution. The mobile phase was acetonitrile-pH 3.5 phosphate buffer (40 + 60, v/v) at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min, with UV detection at 230 nm. The accuracy, precision, and linearity ranges of the developed methods were determined. The developed methods were successfully applied for determination of EZ and SM in bulk powder, laboratory-prepared mixtures, and a combined dosage form. The results obtained were compared statistically with each other and to those of a reported HPLC method; there was no significant difference between the proposed methods and the reported method regarding both accuracy and precision.

A versatile, accurate, precise and economic method for simultaneous determination of simvastatin and ezetimibe in fixed dose combination products was developed. The absorbance values at 236 nm and 234 nm of over line spectrum was used for the estimation of simvastatin and ezetimibe, respectively without mutual interference. This method obeyed Beer's law in the concentration range of 4-16 μg/ml for simvastatin and 4-16 μg/ml for ezetimibe. The results of analyses have been validated statistically for linearity, accuracy and precision of the proposed method.

Simple, accurate and precise colorimetric method for the determination of simvastatin and lovastatin in tablets is described. The method is based on the reaction of simvastatin or lovastatin with hydroxylamine in alkaline medium to form the corresponding hydroxamic acid derivatives which, on treatment with ferric ion in acid medium, yield highly colored ferric-chelate complex with maximum absorption at 513nm. Beer's law is obeyed in the concentration ranges 0.04-0.4mgml(-1) for both simvastatin and lovastatin, respectively. Molar absorptivity values, as calculated from Beer's law data, were found to be 1.15x10(3) and 1.09x10(3)lmol(-1)cm(-1) for simvastatin and lovastatin, respectively. Optimal experimental parameters for the reaction have been studied. The validity of the described procedures was assessed. Statistical analysis of the results reflects that the proposed procedures are precise, accurate and easily applicable for the determination of simvastatin and lovastatin in pure form and in pharmaceutical preparation., (Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Preclinical information on the biliary metabolites of a drug candidate is typically obtained through the collection of bile after surgical cannulation of the bile duct. In this study, we describe a novel approach using the Entero-Test, a simple device that facilitates the noninvasive sampling of duodenal bile. The Entero-Test was used to collect bile from six fasted dogs that had been dosed either orally with simvastatin (SV) or intravenously with simvastatin hydroxy acid (SVA), compounds that have been previously reported to undergo extensive metabolism and biliary secretion in the dog. The devices, consisting of a weighted gelatin capsule containing 90 cm of a highly absorbent nylon string, were swallowed by each dog with the proximal end of the string taped to the animal's face. Once the weighted string had reached the duodenum, gallbladder contraction was stimulated to release bile. Each bile-stained string was then retrieved via the mouth and, after solvent extraction, samples were analyzed for drug-related material by ultraperformance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and NMR spectroscopy. Numerous metabolites of SV and SVA were observed, and, in general, the major metabolites have been reported previously from studies with bile duct-cannulated animals dosed with [14C]SV or [14C]SVA. The results from this study demonstrate the utility of deploying the Entero-Test in absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination studies to provide information on the nature of biliary metabolites, which, on occasion, may be sufficient to negate the need for more invasive sampling techniques. The benefits and limitations of the technique are discussed.

A micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography method was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of ezetimibe and simvastatin in pharmaceutical preparations. The influence of buffer concentration, buffer pH, sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) concentration, organic modifier, capillary temperature, applied voltage, and injection time was investigated, and the method validation studies were performed. The optimum separation for these analytes was achieved in less than 10 min at 30 degrees C with a fused-silica capillary column (56 cm x 50 microm i.d.) and a 25mM borate buffer at pH 9.0 containing 25mM SDS and 10% (v/v) acetonitrile. The samples were injected hydrodynamically for 3 s at 50 mbar, and the applied voltage was +30.0 kV. Detection wavelength was set at 238 nm. Diflunisal was used as internal standard. The method was suitably validated with respect to stability, specificity, linearity, limits of detection and quantification, accuracy, precision, and robustness. The limits of detection and quantification were 1.0 and 2.0 microg/mL for both ezetimibe and simvastatin, respectively. The method developed was successfully applied to the simultaneous determination of ezetimibe and simvastatin in pharmaceutical preparations.

A simple, precise and rapid high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method has been developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of ezetimibe (EZE) and simvastatin (SIM) from their combination drug products. The applicability of monolithic LC phases in the field of quantitative analysis has been evaluated. The existing method with UV detection set at 240 nm was successfully transferred from a conventional silica column to a 10 cm x 4.6 mm i.d. monolithic silica column. By simply increasing the mobile phase flow rate, run time was about five-fold reduced and the consumption of mobile phase was about two-fold decreased, while the chromatographic resolution of the analytes remain unaffected. Ranitidine (RAN) was used as internal standard to guarantee a high level of quantitative performance. The method used a mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile-ammonium acetate (50 mM pH 5.0) (65:35, v/v). It was validated with respect to system suitability, specificity, limit of quantitation (LOQ) and detection (LOD), linearity, precision, accuracy, and recovery, respectively. The described method was linear over the range of 40-1200 ng ml(-1) (r=0.999) for both drugs. The LOD for EZE and SIM were 13.2+/-0.4029 and 13.3+/-0.4772 ng ml(-1), respectively. The LOQ were found to be 39.9+/-1.221 and 39.5+/-1.446 ng ml(-1) for EZE and SIM, respectively. The method is fast (less than 2.0 min) and is suitable for high-throughput analysis of the drug and ones can analyze 700 samples per working day, facilitating the processing of large-number batch samples.

Anhydro-simvastatin and simvastatin dimer are the two main impurities in the fermentation broth as well as in the final product of simvastatin, which is a hypolipidemic drug. An unknown impurity with m/z 451 for [(M + H)(+)] was detected in the analysis of final simvastatin drug sample. By using reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-mass spectrometry (MS) and MS/MS spectra, the unknown impurity was detected and identified. Separation was achieved on ACE-5 C18 (150 x 4.6 mm, 3 microm column) at the flow rate of 1.2 ml min(-1) applying gradient elution of mobile phase A consisting of Milli-Q water of pH 3.0 with formic acid and B consisting of acetonitrile. MS/MS spectrum of the unknown impurity was obtained using HPLC-MS equipped with positive electrosoray ionization (ESI). The unknown impurity is named as 7-[7-(2,2-dimethyl-butyryloxy)-2,6-dimethyl-1,2,6,7,8,8a-hexahydro-naphthalen-1 -yl]-3-hydroxy-5-hydroxymethyl-heptanoic acid.

A fast and novel sample preparation procedure: ultrasound assisted ionic liquid (IL) dispersive liquid extraction for the concentration of lovastatin and simvastatin in aqueous samples was developed. An IL ([C(6)MIM][PF(6)]) was used as the extraction solvent, and the factors affecting the extraction efficiency such as initial temperature, the volume of IL, pH of water samples, cooling time, and salt concentration were optimized. In combination with HPLC-UV, both lovastatin and simvastatin exhibited a good linear range of 1-100 ng/mL. The limits of detection (LODs) of lovastatin and simvastatin were 0.17 and 0.29 ng/mL, respectively. Precisions of the proposed method (RSDs, n = 9) were 4.12 and 4.52%, respectively. This method has been successfully applied for the analysis of target compounds in three real water samples and good spiking recoveries were obtained in the range of 90.0-102.2% for lovastatin and 80.5-112.0% for simvastatin. These results indicated that ultrasound assisted IL dispersive liquid phase extraction would have good application prospect in the pretreatment of environmental samples.

CAD (charged aerosol detector) has recently become a new alternative detection system in HPLC. This detection approach was applied in a new HPLC method for the determination of three of the major statins used in clinical treatment-simvastatin, lovastatin and atorvastatin. The method was optimized and the influence of individual parameters on CAD response and sensitivity was carefully studied. Chromatography was performed on a Zorbax Eclipse XDB C18 (4.6 mm x 75 mm, 3.5 microm), using acetonitrile and formic acid 0.1% as mobile phase. The detection was performed using both CAD (20 pA range) and DAD (diode array detector-238 nm) simultaneously connected in series. In terms of linearity, precision and accuracy, the method was validated using tablets containing atorvastatin and simvastatin. The CAD is designated to be a non-linear detector in a wide dynamic range, however, in this application and in the tested concentration range its response was found to be perfectly linear. The limits of quantitation (0.1 microg/ml) were found to be two times lower than those of UV detection.

A RP-HPLC method for the simultaneous analysis of tocotrienol isoforms (TRF) and simvastatin (SIM) in SIM-TRF nanoparticles (NPs) was developed. Analytes were monitored by UV detection at 238 and 295 nm for SIM and TRF, respectively, using a gradient methanol/water elution. Calibration curves for TRF and SIM were linear over concentration range of 20-80 microg/mL and 1-10 microg/mL with correlation coefficients 0.9990 and 0.9991, respectively. The recovery of TRF and SIM from the NPs was in the range from 97.35 to 102.19% and from 92.71 to 104.35%, respectively. This developed method was successfully employed in quantifying both drugs in NPs for future use in cancer therapy.

A method using liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) was developed for the determination of 17alpha-ethynylestradiol in fish liver; a second method using LC/MS was developed for the determination of carbamazepine, diazepam, simvastatin, and oxybenzone in fish liver. The fish liver samples were extracted and cleaned up by using liquid-liquid extraction and solid-phase extraction before the extracts were analyzed by LC/MS or LC/MS/MS with electrospray negative and positive ionization. Recoveries of the 5 target compounds from spiked catfish liver ranged from 72 +/- 2 to 100 +/- 3%. Limits of quantification for the 5 compounds were between 4.2 and 12.3 ng/g (wet weight). Ten turbot (Pleuronichthys verticalis) liver samples were analyzed; levels of 17alpha-ethynylestradiol, carbamazepine, simvastatin, and oxybenzone were below the detection limits. Diazepam was detected in all 10 fish liver samples at concentrations ranging from 23 to 110 ng/g (wet weight).

"Polypill" is a fixed-dose combination (FDC) containing three or more drugs in a single pill. The same is under development for the treatment and prevention of cardiovascular diseases. In the present study, gradient LC methods were developed for simultaneous determination of the possible components of a polypill, i.e., lisinopril, aspirin and one each among atenolol/hydrochlorothiazide and atorvastatin/simvastatin/pravastatin, in the presence of a total of 13 major interaction/degradation products. The drugs and the products were well separated using a reversed-phase (C-8) column and a mobile phase comprising of acetonitrile: phosphate buffer (pH 2.3). Other HPLC parameters were flow rate, 1 ml/min; detection wavelength, 210 nm; column oven temperature, 60 degrees C; and injection volume, 5 microl. The methods were validated for linearity, precision, accuracy, and specificity. These were further modified to make them compatible for LC-MS studies by removal of the phosphate buffer and adjustment of pH by formic acid. The suitability of the methods for LC-MS studies was established by matching the theoretical mass values of the drugs with those obtained experimentally. These methods were used to determine mass values of the major interaction/degradation products, which helped to know the source of their origin.

The profiling and identification of impurities in raw pharmaceuticals or finished drug product is an essential part of the pharmaceutical manufacturing process. Critical to this process is the ability to confirm known, expected impurities and identify new impurities. LC coupled to electrospray MS is a powerful tool that has been employed for the identification of impurities, natural products, drug metabolites, and proteins. In this study, we show how sub 2 microm porous particle LC has been coupled to hybrid quadrupole orthogonal TOF mass spectrometer to profile and identify the impurities of the common cholesterol lowering drug simvastatin. The hybrid quadrupole TOF mass spectrometer was operated by alternating the collision cell energies to allow for the rapid, facile conformation of the identity of impurities. Using this process it was possible to identify all of the common impurities of simvastatin in a single 10 min run. During the analysis a new impurity of simvastatin was detected and identified as the saturated ring form of simvastatin.

A reversed-phase liquid chromatographic (LC) method was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of ezetimibe and simvastatin in pharmaceutical dosage forms. The LC method was carried out on a Synergi fusion C18 column (150 mm x 4.6 mm id) maintained at 45 degrees C. The mobile phase consisted of phosphate buffer 0.03 M, pH 4.5-acetonitrile (35 + 65, v/v) run at a flow rate of 0.6 mL/min, and detection was made using a photodiode array detector at 234 nm. The chromatographic separation was obtained within 15.0 min, and calibration graphs were linear in the concentration range of 0.5-200 microg/mL. Validation parameters such as specificity, linearity, precision, accuracy, and robustness were evaluated, giving results within the acceptable range for both compounds. Moreover, the proposed method was successfully applied for the routine quality control analysis of pharmaceutical products.

A simple, precise, and rapid stability-indicating reversed-phase column liquid chromatographic (RP-LC) method has been developed and subsequently validated for simultaneous estimation of simvastatin (SIM) and ezetimibe (EZE) from their combination drug product. The proposed RP-LC method utilizes a LiChrospher 100 C18, 5 microm, 250 x 4.0 mm id column at ambient temperature; optimum mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile-water-methanol (60 + 25 + 15, v/v/v) with apparent pH adjusted to 4.0 +/- 0.1; mobile phase flow rate of 1.5 mL/min; and ultraviolet detection at 238 nm. SIM, EZE, and their combination drug product were exposed to thermal, photolytic, hydrolytic, and oxidative stress conditions, and the stressed samples were analyzed by the proposed method. There were no other coeluting, interfering peaks from excipients, impurities, or degradation products due to variable stress conditions, and the method is specific for the estimation of SIM and EZE in the presence of degradation products. The described method was linear over the range of 1-80 and 3-80 microg/mL for SIM and EZE, respectively. The mean recoveries were 99.17 and 100.43% for SIM and EZE, respectively. The intermediate precision data were obtained under different experimental conditions, and the calculated value of the coefficient of variation was found to be less than the critical value. The proposed method can be useful in the quality control of bulk manufacturing and pharmaceutical dosage forms.

The electrochemical behavior and determination of simvastatin (SMV), a lipid-lowering drug, were studied in aqueous alcohol medium at a stationary glassy carbon electrode. Cyclic voltammetry studies showed one main, well-defined, sharp oxidation peak between pH 2 and 8. The oxidation was irreversible and exhibited a diffusion controlled mechanism. Differential pulse and square wave voltammetric methods for the quantitative determination of SMV in pharmaceutical dosage forms and spiked serum samples were developed based on the linear relationship between the peak current and the concentration. Differential pulse and square wave voltammetric techniques for the determination of SMV in 0.1 M H2SO4 and a constant amount of methanol (20%), which allow quantitation over the 2 x 10(-6)-1 x 10(-4) M range in supporting electrolyte with a detection limit of 2.71 x 10(-7) M and 5.50 x 10(-7) M for differential pulse and square wave voltammetric methods, respectively, are proposed. The repeatability and reproducibility of the methods were determined. Precision and accuracy were also checked. These methods were used for the determination of SMV in tablets. The standard addition method was used in biological media. No electroactive interferences from endogenous substances and excipients were found in biological fluids and pharmaceutical dosage forms, respectively.

A specific, accurate, precise and reproducible high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method was developed and validated for the simultaneous quantitation of five 3-hydroxy-3-methyglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitors, viz. atorvastatin, lovastatin, pravastatin, rosuvastatin and simvastatin, in pharmaceutical formulations and extended the application to in vitro metabolism studies of these statins. Ternary gradient elution at a flow rate of 1 mL/min was employed on an Intertisl ODS 3V column (4.6 x 250 mm, 5 microm) at ambient temperature. The mobile phase consisted of 0.01 m ammonium acetate (pH 5.0), acetonitrile and methanol. Theophylline was used as an internal standard (IS). The HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors and their metabolites were monitored at a wavelength of 237 nm. Drugs were found to be 89.6-105.6% of their label's claim in the pharmaceutical formulations. For in vitro metabolism studies the reaction mixtures were extracted with simple liquid-liquid extraction using ethyl acetate. Baseline separation of statins and their metabolites along with IS free from endogenous interferences was achieved. Nominal retention times of IS, atorvastatin, lovastatin, pravastatin, rosuvastatin and simvastatin were 7.5, 17.2, 21.6, 28.5, 33.5 and 35.5 min, respectively. The proposed method is simple, selective and could be applicable for routine analysis of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors in pharmaceutical preparations as well as in vitro metabolism studies., (Copyright 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

In this work, a liquid chromatography stability-indicating method was developed and applied to study the hydrolytic behavior of simvastatin in different pH values and temperatures. The selected chromatographic conditions were a C18 column; acetonitrile-28 mM phosphate buffer solution, pH 4 (65 + 35) as the mobile phase; 251 degrees C column temperature; and flow rate 1 mL/min. The developed method exhibited an adequate repeatability and reproducibility (coefficient of variation 0.54 and 0.74%, respectively) and a recovery higher than 98%. Furthermore, the detection and quantification limits were 9.1 x 10(-7) and 2.8 x 10(-6) M, respectively. The degradation of simvastatin fitted to pseudo-first order kinetics. The degradation was pH dependent, being much higher at alkaline pH than at acid pH. Activation energy, kinetic rate constants (k) at different temperatures, the half life (t1/2) and the time for 10% degradation to occur (t90) values are also reported.

Theoretical calculation and analysis of (13)C-{(1)H} dipolar spectra of small-size spin clusters is presented. Dipolar spectra simulated using the time-independent average Hamiltonian are compared with the dipolar profiles obtained by 2D and 3D (1)H-(13)C correlation experiments employing Lee-Goldburg off-resonance cross-polarization (LG-CP). It is demonstrated that the structural parameters such as interatomic distances as well as mutual orientation of internuclear vectors can be derived from the dipolar profiles of simple spin clusters. Simplified analysis of the dipolar spectra based on isolated-like spin-pair approach can be used only if interacting spin cluster is reduced to the three-spin system in which the angle between both internuclear vectors ranges from 45 degrees to 135 degrees . For other local arrangements of spin systems the produced dipolar spectra must be analyzed with high caution. Contributions of all interacting spins to dipolar evolution of (13)C magnetization are mutually mixed and cannot be easily separated. However, simplification of the dipolar spectra is achieved by selective excitation. Enhanced selectivity of LG-CP transfer due to the initial (1)H chemical-shift-evolution period makes it possible to construct the dipolar spectra from (1)H-(13)C cross-peak intensities for every detected (1)H-(13)C spin-pair. Consequently, isolated-like spin pair evolution of the detected (1)H-(13)C coherence dominates to the resulting dipolar profile, while the influence of other interacting spins is suppressed. However, this suppression is not quite complete and analysis of the selective dipolar spectra based on isolated-like spin-pair approach cannot be used generally. Especially evolution of long-range (1)H-(13)C coherence is still significantly affected by spin states of other coupled hydrogen atoms.

Unknown impurities were detected in simvastatin substance and tablets at a 0.2% level using the liquid chromatography technique with UV (DAD) detection. The impurity structures were elucidated by a direct hyphenation of liquid chromatograph to high-resolution mass spectrometer with electrospray ionisation interface using solutions of formic acid in water and in acetonitrile as the mobile phase. Peak tracking was performed using the column-switching technique. Accurate mass measurements by quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometer equipped with lock-spray provided information about elemental composition of intact molecules and fragments of impurities. Measurement accuracy for precursor ions was around 3 ppm and for fragment ions between 4 and 13 ppm. Mass resolving power was around 6500. Deduced molecular formulae for A1, A2 and A3 impurities were C(27)H(44)O(6), C(26)H(43)O(6) and C(26)H(41)O(5), respectively. The structures proposed for all three impurities revealed modifications of simvastatin molecule on the lactone ring. Impurity A1, detected in simvastatin tablets, was identified as ethyl ester, while the impurities A2 and A3, detected in simvastatin substance, were identified as methyl ester and methyl ether of simvastatin. The impurity from tablets was synthesized and its structure confirmed by LC-UV, LC-MS/MS, and NMR techniques.

We present an integrated consolidation of previously reported methods for screening hydroxymethylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase (HMGR) inhibitors in 96-well microtiter plates with rapid workup using established mammalian cell lines and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis. Inhibitors as well as expression regulators of HMGR (inducers or repressors) can be screened. To validate the method, three competitive inhibitors of HMGR (lovastatin, simvastatin, and atorvastatin), as well as a potent sterol repressor of HMGR synthesis (25-hydroxycholesterol), were assayed on two cell lines: HepG2, a human hepatic derived cell line, and L cells, a subline of NCTC clone 929 mouse fibroblasts. The direct inhibition of HMGR by statins, induction of HMGR synthesis by the same statins following incubation with the cells, and repression of HMGR synthesis by 25-hydroxycholesterol were confirmed.

A robust, automated enzyme inhibition assay method was developed and validated for the determination of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitory activities in plasma and urine samples following simvastatin (SV) administration. The assay was performed on Tecan Genesis 150 and 200 systems equipped with 8-probe and 96-well plates. Plasma samples containing HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors were treated with acetonitrile for protein precipitation before being incubated with HMG-CoA reductase, [14C]-HMG-CoA, and NADPH for a fixed length of time at a fixed temperature. The product, [14C]-mevalonic acid, was lactonized and separated from excess substrate via a small ion exchange resin column, and radioactivity was counted on a scintillation counter. HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors were measured before and after base hydrolysis. The two values obtained for each sample are referred to as 'active' and 'total' HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor concentrations. Simvastatin acid (SVA), the beta-hydroxy acid of SV, was used as a standard to generate a calibration curve of HMG-CoA reductase activity versus SVA concentration (ng/ml). Three calibration ranges, 0.4-20, 2-50, and 50, 100 ng/ml, in human and animal plasma and urine were validated. The assay precision was less than 8.5%, CV in plasma and less than 10.4% in urine. The assay accuracy was 93.6-103.0 and 98.1-103.9% for the 0.4 20 and 2-50 ng/ml calibration ranges, respectively, in human plasma, and was 97.3-105.1, 94.4- 105.2, and 90.2-95.7%, for calibration range 5-100 ng/ml in rat plasma, dog plasma and human urine, respectively.