Comparison of high performance capillary electrophoresis and liquid chromatography for the determination of acyclovir and guanine in pharmaceuticals and urine

A review of the analytical methods used for beer ingredient and finished product analysis and quality control

Beer is an incredibly complex beverage containing more than 3000 different compounds, including carbohydrates, proteins, ions, microbes, organic acids, and polyphenols, among others. Beer becomes even more complex during storage, for over time it may undergo chemical changes that negatively affect the flavor, aroma, and appearance. Thus, it can be expected that maintaining the quality of beer throughout its lifetime is a difficult task. Since it is such a popular drink throughout the world, being familiar with proper analytical techniques for beer evaluation is useful for researchers and brewers. These techniques include, but are not limited to, gas chromatography, liquid chromatography, matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization, capillary electrophoresis, mass spectrometry, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, and flame ionization detection. This review aims to summarize the various ingredients and components of beer, discuss how they affect the finished product, and present some of the analytical methods used for quality control and understanding the formation of chemicals in beer during the brewing process.

Assay and stability-indicating micellar electrokinetic chromatography method for the simultaneous determination of valacyclovir, acyclovir and their major impurity guanine in pharmaceutical formulations

A micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) method for the simultaneous determination of the antiviral drugs acyclovir and valacyclovir and their major impurity, guanine, was developed. The influences of several factors (surfactant and buffer concentration, pH, applied voltage, capillary temperature and injection time) were studied. Using tyramine hydrochloride as internal standard, the analytes were all separated in about 4 min. The separation was carried out in reversed polarity mode at 28 degrees C, 25 kV and using hydrodynamic injection (15 s). The separation was effected in a fused-silica capillary 100 microm x 56 cm and a background electrolyte of 20 mM citric acid-1 M Tris solution (pH 2.75), containing 125 mM sodium dodecyl sulphate and detection at 254 nm. The method was validated with respect to linearity, limit of detection and quantification, accuracy, precision and selectivity. Calibration curves were linear over the range 0.1-1 microg/mL (guanine) and from 0.1 to 120 microg/mL for both valacyclovir and acyclovir. The relative standard deviations of intra- and inter-day migration times and corrected peak areas were less than 5.0%. The proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of the analytes in tablets and creams. From the previous study it is concluded that the stability-indicating method developed for acyclovir and valacyclovir can be used for analysis of the drug in various stability samples.

High-throughput HPLC assay of acyclovir and its major impurity guanine using a monolithic column and a flow gradient approach

Acyclovir and its major impurity guanine are determined rapidly by the incorporation of a monolithic column (100 mm x 4.6 mm i.d., Merck) to an automated HPLC system. A simple flow gradient protocol was adopted in order to accelerate the separation-detection cycle. Using 0.2% CH(3)COOH (pH 3.1) as the mobile phase and detection at 254 nm, guanine was effectively separated from the system peak (t(R)=1.25 min), while the retention time of acyclovir was 2.35 min. Linearity of the assay was validated in the range 0.1-1.0% guanine and 80-120% acyclovir (n=5). The accuracy and within- and day-to-day precision of the method were also validated, while the limits of detection and quantitation of both analytes were determined. The proposed method was successfully applied to the quality control of acyclovir raw material and the quality and stability control of acyclovir-containing pharmaceutical creams (Hagevir 5%, w/w, Cosmopharm Ltd., Korinthos, Greece).

Spectrophotometric and spectrofluorimetric methods for analysis of acyclovir and acebutolol hydrochloride

Simple and sensitive spectrophotometric and spectrofluorimetric methods are described for analysis of acyclovir and acebutolol hydrochloride. The proposed methods are based on oxidation of the selected drugs with cerium(IV) ion in acidic medium with subsequent measurement of either the decrease in absorbance at 320nm or the fluorescence intensity of the produced cerous(III) ion at 361-363nm (excitation at 250nm). Beer's law obeyed from 2 to 8, 0.25 to 2.5microgcm-1 acyclovir, 1 to 7 and 0.25 to 2.5microgml-1 acebutolol hydrochloride, using the spectrophotometric and spectrofluorimetric method, respectively. The proposed method were successfully applied for determination of the selected drugs in their pharmaceutical preparations with good recoveries.

Rapid determination of acyclovir in plasma and cerebrospinal fluid by micellar electrokinetic chromatography with direct sample injection and its clinical application

A simple MEKC with UV detection at 254 nm for analysis of acyclovir in plasma and in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) by direct injection without any sample pretreatment is described. The separation of acyclovir from biological matrix was performed at 25 degrees C using a BGE consisting of Tris buffer with SDS as the electrolyte solution. Several parameters affecting the separation of the drug from biological matrix were studied, including the pH and concentrations of the Tris buffer and SDS. Using dyphylline as an internal standard, the linear ranges of the method for the determination of acyclovir in plasma and in CSF all exceeded the range of 2-50 microg/mL; the detection limit of the drug in plasma and in CSF (S/N = 3; injection 3.45 kPa, 5 s) was 1.0 microg/mL. The applicability of the proposed method for determination of acyclovir in plasma and CSF collected at 8 h after intravenous administration of 500 mg acyclovir (Zovirax) in two patients with herpes simplex encephalitis was demonstrated.

Separation of purine and pyrimidine bases by capillary electrophoresis using β-cyclodextrin as an additive

Capillary electrophoresis was applied to separate purine and pyrimidine bases in the basis of their partial ionization in the alkaline buffer. The effects of buffer pH, buffer and beta-cylclodextrin concentration were systematically investigated using a commercial capillary electrophoresis instrument with UV detector at 254nm. We found that the resolutions of bases (especially for adenine and thymine) were significantly improved in the presence of beta-cylclodextrin. The satisfactory separation of five bases such as cytosine, thymine, adenine, guanine and uracil were achieved by capillary electrophoresis using beta-cylclodextrin as an additive. Under the optimal conditions, the linear range was from 2 to 200microg/ml for bases (R= 0,991-0,9977 ) and the detection limits were from 0.8 to 1.8microg/ml (S/N = 2). The detection limit of 0.05microg/ml ( S/N=2 ) for uracil was obtained by stacking injection mode. The assay was used to determine the deamination of cytosine to uracil by heating in the presence of sodium hydroxide. Our primarily results show that capillary electrophoresis is a very useful tool for determination of purine and pyrimidine bases and study on nucleic acids.

Simple high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the determination of acyclovir in pharmaceuticals

An assay method for the determination of acyclovir from pharmaceutical preparations has been developed for assessment of product quality utilising high-performance liquid chromatography. The chromatographic conditions comprised a reversed-phase C18 column (250 x 4.6 mm i.d.) with a mobile phase of acetonitrile-20 mmol l(-1) aqueous ammonium acetate buffer of pH 4.5 (40:60). The flow rate was 0.8 ml min(-1) and UV detection was used at 250 nm. Calibration graph was linear in the range 1.98-59.4 microg ml(-1). The method has been validated according to current guidelines including assay of pharmacopoeial standard tablets. Recoveries ranged from 96.64 to 99.53%. The exipients present in the tablets did not interfere with the method.

Development and validation of a plasma assay for acyclovir using high-performance capillary electrophoresis with sample stacking

A sensitive plasma assay for acyclovir has been developed and validated. Acyclovir was separated from plasma components using Oasis HLB columns. Separation was obtained with no plasma interference using micellar electrokinetic chromatography (175 mM SDS) and hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin (100 mM) in 90 mM borate buffer (pH 8.8) containing 0.2% NaCl. High sensitivity was achieved by large volume sample introduction and stacking. The linear range was from 20 to 10000 ng/ml with a limit of quantitation of 20 ng/ml. This method is a viable alternative to HPLC because of its high separation and sensitivity, reproducibility, and adaptability to other nucleoside analogs.

Simple spectrophotometric determination of acyclovir in bulk drug and formulations

A simple and cost effective spectrophotometric method is described for the determination of acyclovir in bulk drug and in formulations. The method is based on the formation of blue coloured chromogen when the drug reacts with Folin-Ciocalteu (F-C) reagent in alkaline medium. The coloured species has an absorption maximum at 760 nm and obeys Beer's law in the concentration range 50-450 microg ml(-1). The absorbance was found to increase linearly with increasing concentration of acyclovir, which is corroborated by the calculated correlation coefficient value of 0.9998 (n = 9). The apparent molar absorptivity and Sandell sensitivity were 1.65 x 10(2) l mol(-1) cm(-1) and 1.36 microg cm(-2), respectively. The slope and intercept of the equation of the regression line are 6.87 x 10(-4) and 8.33 x 10(-3), respectively. The limit of detection was 5.68 microg ml(-1) and the limit of quantification was 18.95 microg ml(-1). The proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of acyclovir in pharmaceutical formulations. The reliability of the assay method was established by parallel determination by standard-addition method, and by recovery studies. The results demonstrated and the procedure is at least as accurate, precise and reproducible (RSD < 2%) as the official method, while being simple and less time consuming. A statistical analysis indicated that there was no significant difference between the results obtained by the proposed procedure and those of the official method.

Separation methods for acyclovir and related antiviral compounds

Acyclovir (ACV) is an antiviral drug, which selectively inhibits replication of members of the herpes group of DNA viruses with low cell toxicity. Valaciclovir (VACV), a prodrug of ACV is usually preferred in the oral treatment of viral infections, mainly herpes simplex virus (HSV). Also other analogues such as ganciclovir and penciclovir are discussed here. The former acts against cytomegalovirus (CMV) in general and the latter against CMV retinitis. The action mechanism of these antiviral drugs is presented briefly here, mainly via phosphorylation and inhibition of the viral DNA polymerase. The therapeutic use and the pharmacokinetics are also outlined. The measurement of the concentration of acyclovir and related compounds in biological samples poses a particularly significant challenge because these drugs tend to be structurally similar to endogenous substances. The analysis requires the use of highly selective analytical techniques and chromatography methods are a first choice to determine drug content in pharmaceuticals and to measure them in body fluids. Chromatography can be considered the procedure of choice for the bio-analysis of this class of antiviral compounds, as this methodology is characterised by good specificity and accuracy and it is particularly useful when metabolites need to be monitored. Among chromatographic techniques, the reversed-phase (RP) HPLC is widely used for the analysis. C18 Silica columns from 7.5 to 30 cm in length are used, the separation is carried out mainly at room temperature and less than 10 min is sufficient for the analysis at 1.0-1.5 ml/min of flow-rate. The separation methods require an isocratic system, and various authors have proposed a variety of mobile phases. The detection requires absorbance or fluorescence measurements carried out at 250-254 nm and at lambdaex=260-285 nm, lambdaem=375-380 nm, respectively. The detection limit is about 0.3-10 ng/ml but the most important aspect is related to the sample treatment, mainly when body fluids are under examination. The plasma samples obtained from human blood are pre-treated with an acid or acetonitrile deproteinization and the supernatant after centrifugation is successively extracted before RP-HPLC injection. Capillary Electrophoresis methods are also discussed. This new analytical approach might be the expected evolution, in fact the analyses are improved with regard to time and performance, in particular coated capillary as well as addition of stabilisers have been employed. The time of analysis is shortened arriving at less than half a minute. Furthermore by using an electrochemical detection, and having a calibration linearity in the range of 0.2-20.0 ng/ml, the detection limit is 0.15 microg/ml. The measurements of acyclovir and penciclovir have been presented but in the future other related drugs will probably be available using CE methods.

HPTLC method to study skin permeation of acylovir

A new simple, rapid and selective high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) method is developed for the quantitation of acyclovir during in vitro skin permeation studies. Separation of guinea pig skin proteins and acyclovir was achieved by employing a mobile phase consisting of chloroform-methanol-ammonia (15:9:4, v/v/v) on precoated silica gel 60F254 aluminum plates. Densitometnic analysis was carried out at 255 nm. The limit of detection and quantification were 30 and 50 ng, respectively. The calibration curve was linear in the range of 10-20 microg/ml (r = 0.9965). The relative standard deviation for a sample of concentration 100 microg/ml were 1.15 and 2.85 for system and method precision, respectively. Intraday and interday variation studies gave an average 0.763 and 0.463% relative standard deviation for the three levels tested. Average recoveries of 101.8 and 100.1% were recorded for two marketed preparations studied. The method was employed to optimize topical liposomal gel formulation of acyclovir on basis of maximum skin permeation.

Analysis of acyclovir by high performance capillary electrophoresis with on-column amperometric detection

The separation of acyclovir (ACV) by high performance capillary electrophoresis (HPCE) with on-column amperometric detection using alpha-amino-5-mercapto-3,4-dithiazole (AMD) as internal standard is described. The calibration line was linear in the range of 0.5-20 mg/L of ACV. The detection limit was 0.15 mg/L of ACV. Its recovery ranged from 98 to 101% with relative standard deviations (RSDs) from 1.9 to 3.2% (n = 5). This method was successfully used for determining ACV in some pharmaceuticals and human urine. Comparable results with HPCE with ultraviolet (UV) detection and amperometric detection were obtained.