Fully automated gradient elution liquid chromatographic assay of omeprazole and two metabolites

Complexity in estimation of esomeprazole and its related impurities' stability in various stress conditions in low-dose aspirin and esomeprazole magnesium capsules

A complex, sensitive, and precise high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the profiling of impurities of esomeprazole in low-dose aspirin and esomeprazole capsules has been developed, validated, and used for the determination of impurities in pharmaceutical products. Esomeprazole and its related impurities’ development in the presence of aspirin was traditionally difficult due to aspirin’s sensitivity to basic conditions and esomeprazole’s sensitivity to acidic conditions. When aspirin is under basic, humid, and extreme temperature conditions, it produces salicylic acid and acetic acid moieties. These two byproducts create an acidic environment for the esomeprazole. Due to the volatility and migration phenomenon of the produced acetic acid and salicylic acid from aspirin in the capsule dosage form, esomeprazole’s purity, stability, and quantification are affected. The objective of the present research work was to develop a gradient reversed-phase liquid chromatographic method to separate all the degradation products and process-related impurities from the main peak. The impurities were well-separated on a RP8 column (150 mm × 4.6mm, X-terra, RP8, 3.5μm) by the gradient program using a glycine buffer (0.08 M, pH adjusted to 9.0 with 50% NaOH), acetonitrile, and methanol at a flow rate of 1.0 mL min⁻¹ with detection wavelength at 305 nm and column temperature at 30°C. The developed method was found to be specific, precise, linear, accurate, rugged, and robust. LOQ values for all of the known impurities were below reporting thresholds. The drug was subjected to stress conditions of hydrolysis, oxidation, photolysis, and thermal degradation in the presence of aspirin. The developed RP-HPLC method was validated according to the present ICH guidelines for specificity, linearity, accuracy, precision, limit of detection, limit of quantification, ruggedness, and robustness.

Analytical methodologies for the determination of omeprazole: An overview

Omeprazole, a gastric acid pump inhibitor, dose-dependently controls gastric acid secretion; the drug has greater antisecretory activity than histamine H(2)-receptor antagonists. Omeprazole has been determined in formulations and biological fluids by a variety of methods such as spectrophotometry, high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection and liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. The overview includes the most relevant analytical methodologies used in its determination since the origin still today.

Determination of esomeprazole and its two main metabolites in human, rat and dog plasma by liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry

A LC-MS/MS method was developed for quantitative determination of esomeprazole, and its two main metabolites 5-hydroxyesomeprazole and omeprazole sulphone in 25 microL human, rat or dog plasma. The analytes and their internal standards were extracted from plasma into methyl tert-butyl ether - dichloromethane (3:2, v/v). After evaporation and reconstitution of the organic extract the analytes were separated on a reversed-phase LC column and measured by atmospheric-pressure positive ionisation MS. The linearity range was 20-20,000 nmol/L for esomeprazole and omeprazole sulphone, and 20-4000 nmol/L for 5-hydroxyesomeprazole. The extraction recoveries ranged between 80 and 105%. The intra- and inter-day imprecision were less than 9.5% with accuracy between 97.7% and 100.1% for all analytes.

Determination of omeprazole in human plasma by liquid chromatography–electrospray quadrupole linear ion trap mass spectrometry

An analytical method for the determination of omeprazole in human plasma has been developed based on liquid chromatography mass spectrometry. The analyte and internal standard sildenafil are extracted from plasma by liquid-liquid extraction using diethyl ether:dichloromethane (60:40, v/v) and separated by reversed phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) using acetonitrile:methanol:10 mM ammonium acetate (37.5:37.5:25, v/v/v) as mobile phase. Detection is carried out by multiple reaction monitoring on a Q TRAP LC/MS/MS system (Q TRAP). The method has a chromatographic run time of 3.5 min and is linear within the range 0.50-800 ng/mL. Intra- and inter-day precision expressed as relative standard deviation ranged from 0.4 to 8.5% and from 1.2 to 6.8%, respectively. Assay expressed as relative error was <5.7%. The method has been applied in a bioequivalence study of two capsule formulations of omeprazole.

Omeprazole determination using HPLC with coulometric detection

A sensitive high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method for the determination of omeprazole and three related benzimidazoles is reported. Coulometric detection was carried out at +800 mV using a porous carbon electrode. The linear range is 0.01-10 microg/ml. The method has a high degree of precision; the relative standard deviation of omeprazole at a concentration of 1.06 microg/ml was 0.7% (n=4). The cyclic voltammogram of omeprazole is consistent with the hydrodynamic voltammogram exhibiting a single major irreversible oxidative wave with a peak potential at +1105 mV. The response factors for the four compounds are similar indicating that the oxidative process does not involve the sulfur moiety exclusively. The data are most consistent with oxidation primarily of the benzimidazole groups. The method was applied successfully to the determination of omeprazole in a paste formulation.

Simultaneous determination of omeprazole and 5'-hydroxyomeprazole in human plasma by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

A method for the simultaneous determination of omeprazole and 5'-hydroxyomeprazole in human plasma is described. Isolation of the analytes from plasma was achieved via solid-phase extraction using a polymeric sorbent based cartridge. The analytes were chromatographed under reversed-phase conditions on a Zorbax XDB-C8 column (50 x 4.6 mm). The HPLC mobile phase consisted of a mixture of acetonitrile-water (21:79, v/v) containing 10 mM ammonium hydroxide. The apparent pH of the mobile phase was adjusted to 8.5 with formic acid prior to use. A Sciex API III+ tandem mass spectrometer equipped with a heated nebulizer atmospheric pressure chemical ionization interface was used as a detector and was operated in the positive ion mode. Multiple reaction monitoring using the precursor-->product ion combinations of m/z 362-->214, 346-->198 and 316-->147 was used to detect 5'-hydroxyomeprazole, omeprazole and internal standard, respectively. The method was validated in the concentration range of 10-500 ng/ml plasma with adequate assay precision and accuracy. The assay was used to determine the cytochrome P450 2C19 phenotype of subjects participating in clinical trials of compounds under development.

Determination of omeprazole in rat plasma by HPLC with column switching

A new high-performance liquid chromatographic method with column switching has been developed for the determination of omeprazole in plasma. The plasma samples were injected onto a Bondapak phenyl/corasil (37-50 microns) precolumn and polar plasma components were washed with 0.06 M borate buffer. After valve switching, the concentrated drug were eluted in the back-flush mode and separated on a mu-Bondapak C18 column with acetonitrile-phosphate buffer as the mobile phase. The method showed excellent precision, accuracy and speed with detection limit of 0.01 microgram/ml-1. Total analysis time per sample was less than 20 min and the coefficients of variation for intra and inter-assay were less than 5.63%. This method has been successfully applied to plasma samples from rats after oral administration of omeprazole.

Development and preliminary application of a high-performance liquid chromatographic assay for omeprazole metabolism in human liver microsomes

A high-performance liquid chromatography assay was developed to measure the enzymatic activities of the 5-hydroxylation and sulphoxidation of omeprazole, a proton pump inhibitor, in human liver microsomes. The preliminary study was also undertaken to assess the assay's applicability for the enzyme kinetic analysis of omeprazole metabolism by human liver microsomes. The recovery of 5-hydroxyomeprazole, omeprazole sulphone and phenacetin (internal standard) after the precipitation of microsomal protein by acetonitrile was nearly complete. The intra-assay relative standard deviations (n = 6) were 8.2 and 12.8% for quantitation of the 5-hydroxylation and sulphoxidation activities of omeprazole, respectively. Eadie-Hofstee plots for the formation of 5-hydroxyomeprazole and omeprazole sulphone gave a biphasic relationship for all the microsomal samples studied (n = 6). The respective mean (+/- SD) high- and low-affinity component kinetic parameters for the 5-hydroxylation and sulphoxidation of omeprazole estimated by a two-enzyme kinetic analysis were: Km1 = 6.3 +/- 1.7 and 10.4 +/- 6.3 microM, Km2 = 183.2 +/- 180.4 and 671.2 +/- 639.4 microM, Vmax1 = 109.8 +/- 75.4 and 77.5 +/- 46.1 pmol mg-1 min-1, and Vmax2 = 163.3 +/- 94.1 and 318.3 +/- 163.3 pmol mg-1 min-1. The results suggest that the assay is reproducible, accurate and applicable for studying the metabolism of omeprazole in human liver microsomes.

High-performance liquid chromatographic assay for human liver microsomal omeprazole metabolism

Assays for the measurement of omeprazole metabolites in plasma and urine have been reported, but when applied to the determination of omeprazole metabolites formed by human liver microsomal incubations there were obvious limitations in sensitivity. The present high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) assay, which comprises extraction, evaporation and reconstitution, is several-fold more sensitive with a limit of detection of approximately 2 pmol (2 nM in incubate) for omeprazole sulphone and 25 pmol (25 nM in incubate) for hydroxyomeprazole. Extraction efficiency is essentially quantitative and is highly reproducible (coefficient of variation = 2.1% for both metabolites). The assay is linear over a wide range of concentrations and the formation of the metabolites is linear with respect to both time (to 15 min) and protein concentration (to 1.5 mg/ml). Two minor metabolites, one of which was identified tentatively as 5-O-desmethylomeprazole, were also formed by human liver microsomes and could be determined by this method. Preliminary studies of the formation of omeprazole sulphone and hydroxyomeprazole showed that the formation kinetics in human liver microsomes were biphasic for both metabolites, suggesting that at least two different cytochrome P450 isoforms are involved in their formation.

Pharmacokinetics of [14C]omeprazole in patients with liver cirrhosis

The pharmacokinetics of omeprazole and its metabolites following single doses were studied in 8 patients with liver cirrhosis. Each patient participated in 2 experiments in which [14C]omeprazole was administered either intravenously (20mg) or in an oral solution (40mg) in a randomised crossover design. Plasma concentrations of omeprazole and 2 of its identified metabolites, as well as total radioactivity were followed for 24h; urinary excretion was followed for 96h. The mean elimination half-life of omeprazole in the patients with cirrhosis was 2.8h and the mean total plasma clearance was 67 ml/min (4.02 L/h); corresponding values from separate studies in young healthy volunteers were 0.7h and 594 ml/min (35.64 L/h). The mean systemic availability was nearly 100% in the patients with cirrhosis whereas the previously reported value in young volunteers was only 56%. Almost 80% of a given dose was excreted as urinary metabolites in both patients and young volunteers. It is concluded that, as the hepatic clearance of omeprazole was substantially reduced in these patients, the dose of omeprazole needed for a certain degree of acid suppression is lower in patients with liver cirrhosis.

Pharmacokinetic study of omeprazole in elderly healthy volunteers

The pharmacokinetics of omeprazole and its metabolites were studied in 8 healthy elderly volunteers using [14C]omeprazole. In another 6 healthy elderly volunteers, the pharmacokinetics of omeprazole were studied using unlabelled drug. Each volunteer received single doses of omeprazole intravenously (20mg) and orally (40mg) as solutions in a randomized crossover design. The plasma concentrations and urinary excretion of omeprazole and metabolites were followed for 24 and 96h, respectively. The results indicate that the average metabolic capacity of omeprazole is decreased in the elderly compared with that found in earlier studies of healthy young individuals. This was reflected in an increase in bioavailability from 56 to 76%, a reduction in mean systemic clearance by approximately 50% (0.25 L/min) and a prolongation of the mean elimination half-life from 0.7 to 1.0h compared with the young. Despite these findings, the considerable overlap in these parameters between young and old volunteers, together with data from previous pharmacodynamic studies and the wide therapeutic range of omeprazole, indicate that dosage reductions are not needed in the elderly.

Simultaneous determination of omeprazole and its metabolites in plasma and urine by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with an alkaline-resistant polymer-coated C18 column

Omeprazole (OPZ) is a proton pump inhibitor in gastric parietal cells. A reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic method was developed that enables concentrations of OPZ and its major metabolites, omeprazole sulphone (OPZ-SFN) and hydroxy-omeprazole (H-OPZ), to be determined simultaneously in plasma and that of H-OPZ in urine. To prevent decomposition of OPZ, all the processes (extraction, injection and elution) were carried out under alkaline conditions. Recoveries of the analytes and internal standard were greater than 93.1%. The intra- and inter-assay coefficients of variation were less than 9.1 and 6.4% for plasma samples and less than 2.9 and 3.9% for urine samples, respectively. The minimum determinable concentration (relative standard deviation 10-15%) was 10 ng/ml for all analytes in plasma and H-OPZ in urine samples. The clinical applicability of this assay method was evaluated by determining plasma concentration-and urinary excretion-time courses of the respective analyte(s) in four healthy volunteers after an oral dose of 20 mg of OPZ. The present assay is considered to be simple, precise and accurate and suitable for the study of the kinetic disposition and metabolism of OPZ, which is an extensively metabolized drug in the human liver.

Direct injection/h.p.l.c. methods for the analysis of drugs in biological samples

1. Direct injection h.p.l.c. methods for zaprinast, and pantoprazole and its sulphone metabolite were developed. 2. Optimal recovery of pantoprazole and its sulphone metabolite was effected by the absence of transfer losses and the effective adjustment of sample pH on-line. 3. Acetonitrile reduced the recovery of pantoprazole and its sulphone metabolite at acetonitrile concentrations greater than 5% in serum. 4. Direct injection h.p.l.c. methods minimize sample handling losses, reduce human contact with biological samples and are sufficiently accurate and reproducible to be used to support pharmacodynamic and toxicokinetic studies.

Pharmacokinetics of various single intravenous and oral doses of omeprazole

The influence of dose on the kinetics of omeprazole and two of its metabolites, hydroxyomeprazole and the sulphone, has been studied. Ten healthy subjects were given omeprazole 10 and 40 mg iv and 10, 40 and 90 mg orally. No significant dose-related difference in any parameter calculated from the iv experiments was detected. Following the oral solutions, however, there was a dose-dependent increase in systemic availability, probably due to saturable first-pass elimination. The AUC of the sulphone also seemed to increase non-linearly with increasing dose, and that of the hydroxyomeprazole increased in proportion to dose. The slight dose-dependency of the bioavailability of the solution is considered to be of no or limited clinical relevance. Furthermore, since omeprazole is given orally as slowly absorbed enteric coated granules in the dose of 20 mg o.d., the potential for dose-dependent kinetics in clinical practice would be much less than in the present study.

Sample preparation for biomedical analysis

A review of sample preparation techniques for biomedical analysis is presented. Firstly, sample preparation techniques can be divided into unit operations which can be classified into four groups: release of the analyte from the matrix, removal of endogenous material, liquid handling procedures and the enhancement of selectivity and sensitivity. The concept of unit operations gives an analyst a tool with which to evaluate critically any method for preparing a sample for analysis. Secondly, the major techniques of sample preparation (protein precipitation, liquid-liquid extraction, liquid-solid extraction and high-performance liquid chromatography, HPLC) are discussed and their advantages and disadvantages presented. Thirdly, the rationale for the automation of sample preparation is reviewed; in general liquid-solid extraction and HPLC are the best techniques for automation. The means by which this can be effected (either flexible or dedicated automation) is discussed. Finally, techniques such as supercritical fluid extraction, micellar liquid chromatography, microwave energy and immunoextraction which may be applied to biomedical sample preparation are evaluated briefly.