Stability indicating RP-LC determination of sildenafil citrate (Viagra) in pure form and in pharmaceutical samples

Two Versatile Pencil Graphite-Polymer Sensor Electrodes Coupled with Potentiometry and Potentiometric Titration Methods: Profiling Determinations of Vitamin V in Tablets and Urine Samples

Herein, we developed a new pencil graphite ion-selective electrode strategy for the broadly used erectile dysfunction medication, sildenafil citrate (SC, vitamin V), for its automated potentiometry and potentiometric titration profiling in marketed tablets and human urine samples. The method was based on ion-pair complexation between SC and sodium tetraphenylborate (Na-TPB) or phosphotungstic acid (PTA), embedded into a pencil-fabricated graphite sensor electrode coated with poly(vinyl chloride, PVC) matrix, which is pre-plasticized with two different pre-studied plasticizers. The modern fabricated electrodes have a proven fast near-Nernstian response for SC over the concentration range of 1.0 × 10^-6 to 1.0 × 10^-2 and 1.0 × 10^-5 to 1.0 × 10^-2 M, with LODs of 6.5 × 10^-7 and 5.5 × 10^-6 over a pH 3-6 for (SC-TPB)- and (SC-PTA)-based membrane sensors, of O-nitrophenyl octyl ether (O-NPOE) and dioctyl phthalate (DOP), respectively. The selectivity coefficients for different interferents, including many inorganic cations, sugars, and/or nitrogenous compounds, were tested and confirmed. Applications of the proposed method were conducted on the determination of SC in its tablets and urine samples under the proper conditions. The percent recovery values were compared with those obtained by an official method and showed an RSD ≤ 0.3% (n = 5).

UHPLC for quality evaluation of genuine and illegal medicines containing sildenafil citrate and tadalafil

One of the highest incidences of illegal drug products is related to phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors, used in treatment of erectile dysfunction, including those containing sildenafil citrate and tadalafil. In this context, comprehensive evaluation of the quality of genuine and illegal medicines was performed. A simple and rapid ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC-UV) method to quantify sildenafil and tadalafil in the presence of six degradation products was developed and validated. Sildenafil and tadalafil were submitted to forced degradation. The separation was carried out on a Kinetex C18 (50 × 2.1 mm; 1.7 μm) column with mobile phase composed of acetonitrile and aqueous triethylamine solution. The calibration curves were linear in the range of 14-126 μg mL-1 for sildenafil citrate and 4-36 μg mL-1 for tadalafil and the method proved to be selective, precise, accurate and robust. Sildenafil degraded in oxidative media, whereas tadalafil degraded in acidic, alkaline and oxidative environment. The chemical structures and the mechanisms for the formation of the main degradation products were proposed by UHPLC coupled to tandem mass spectrometry. The UHPLC-UV method was applied in the pharmaceutical analysis of genuine and seized medicines. Some of them did not meet quality standards, mainly due to contents below specifications and the large variation on contents between units within a batch.

Investigation of the Presence of Sildenafil in Herbal Dietary Supplements by Validated HPLC Method

Objectives

As the first FDA-approved phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor, sildenafil (SDF) is widely used in the treatment of erectile dysfunction due to its strong pharmacodynamic activity. Since many food supplements are now involved in illegal adulteration, the presence of SDF in food supplements is very important because of their toxicological risks. In this study a simple fast, reliable high-performance liquid chromatography method with ultraviolet (UV) detector has been developed and validated for SDF analysis in herbal dietary supplements (HDSs).

Materials and Methods

10 mM phosphate buffer containing 0.1% triethylamine (pH 3.5) and acetonitrile (65:35, v/v), as mobile phase was applied isocratically to a reverse phase C₁₈ analytical (4.6×250 mm, 5 μm) column. Chromatographic separation was achieved by a C₁₈ reverse-phase analytical column 4.6×250 mm, 5 μm particle size, using acetonitrile, with 10 mM phosphate buffer containing 0.1% triethylamine (65:35, v/v, pH 3.5) as a mobile phase. The mobile phase flow rate was 1 mL min^-1 and the column temperature was 35°C. The UV detector was set at 293 nm. The liquid-liquid extraction method used in the study provided a simple and practical method for the recovery of SDF in HDSs and their obtained values ranged from 87.6 to 111.7%.

Results

The method showed linearity with an excellent correlation coefficient (r²>0.999). Moreover, it was specific and sensitive with the limit of quantification, 6.5 ng mL^-1. Intraday and interday method precision was ≤8.2 (relative standard deviation %). Intraday and interday method accuracy was between -4.0 and 7.1 (RE%). The method was strong according to the robustness test results obtained from UV detection, mobile phase buffer pH, column temperature, and flow rate changes. The described procedure was simple, fast, precise, and feasible for routine adulteration analysis of SDF, especially in food control or toxicology laboratories. This method was successfully applied to 50 individual solid and liquid form HDSs.

Conclusion

The results showed that 37 out of 50 samples of HDSs (represented 74.0%) examined contained SDF between 0.01 and 465.47 mg/g, 150.87±127.48 (mean ± standard deviation), which could lead to serious health problems and might even be fatal for consumers. The described procedure was found to be simple, rapid, precise and feasible for routine adulteration analysis of SDF, especially in food control or toxicology laboratories.

Stability of sildenafil in combination with heparin and dopamine

PURPOSE

The stability of sildenafil in combination with heparin and dopamine was evaluated.

METHODS

A stability-indicating high-performance liquid chromatography method with ultraviolet detection was developed for sildenafil citrate and validated. The method was applied to the investigation of sildenafil alone, sildenafil with heparin, sildenafil with dopamine, and sildenafil with heparin and with dopamine, all in 5% dextrose injection at room temperature and under refrigeration for 30 days. Samples of 100 μL were pulled from each storage bottle on each sampling day, diluted in mobile phase, and assayed in duplicate. Samples were tested on days 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 12, 14, 21, and 30. Each preparation was visually inspected for precipitation and color change. The percent recovery in each study sample was determined by comparing the peak area of sildenafil in the sample with the peak area of sildenafil from a freshly prepared 100-μg/mL standard in mobile phase.

RESULTS

The sildenafil alone, sildenafil with heparin, and sildenafil with dopamine remained within 90-110% of the expected sildenafil potency for at least 30 days at both temperatures. The preparation of sildenafil with both heparin and dopamine fell below 90% potency after 3 days at room temperature and 21 days in the refrigerator.

CONCLUSION

Sildenafil prepared in 5% dextrose injection alone, with heparin, and with dopamine retained over 90% potency after 30 days of storage at room temperature and under refrigeration. Sildenafil prepared with both heparin and dopamine had a potency of <90% after 3 days of storage at room temperature and 21 days of storage under refrigeration.

Synthesis of core-shell magnetic molecularly imprinted polymers and detection of sildenafil and vardenafil in herbal dietary supplements

An analytical procedure for selective extraction of sildenafil and vardenafil in herbal dietary supplements (HDSs) has been set up by using the magnetic molecularly imprinted polymers (MMIPs) as the extraction and clean-up materials, followed by high performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet (HPLC-UV). The MMIPs were prepared by a surface molecular imprinting technique, using Fe(3)O(4) magnetite as a magnetically susceptible component, sildenafil as template molecule, 2-(trifluoromethyl) acrylic acid (TFMAA) as functional monomer, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) as polymeric matrix components. The MMIPs were characterized by transmission electron microscope (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), respectively. The heterogeneity of the MMIPs was modeled with the Freundlich isotherm equation. The resulting MMIPs had high recognition ability and fast binding kinetics for sildenafil. The MMIPs were used as dispersive solid-phase extraction (DSPE) materials to selectively extract sildenafil and vardenafil from HDSs, the contents of sildenafil and vardenafil were found to be 8.05 and 3.86 μg g(-1), respectively, and the average recoveries in spiked HDSs were 70.91-91.75% with a relative standard deviation (R.S.D.) below 7%. The MMIPs were successfully used to selectively enrich and determine sildenafil and vardenafil from HDSs.

Spectrophotometric determination of sildenafil citrate in pure form and in pharmaceutical formulation using some chromotropic acid azo dyes

Two simple and highly sensitive spectrophotometric methods were developed for the quantitative determination of the drug sildenafil citrate (SC), Viagra, in pure form and in pharmaceutical formulations, through ion-associate formation reactions (method A) with mono-chromotropic acid azo dyes, chromotrope 2B (I) and chromotrope 2R (II) and ion-pair reactions (method B) with bi-chromotropic acid azo dyes, 3-phenylazo-6-o-carboxyphenylazo-chromotropic acid (III), bis-3,6-(o-hydroxyphenylazo)-chromotropic acid (IV), bis-3,6-(p-N,N-dimethylphenylazo)-chromotropic acid (V) and 3-phenylazo-6-o-hydroxyphenylazo-chromotorpic acid (VI). The reaction products, extractable in methylene chloride, were quantitatively measured at 540, 520, 540, 570, 600 and 575 nm using reagents, I-VI, respectively. The reaction conditions were studied and optimized. Beer's plots were linear in the concentration ranges 3.3-87.0, 3.3-96.0, 5.0-115.0, 2.5-125.0, 8.3-166.7 and 0.8-15.0 microg mL(-1) with corresponding molar absorptivities 1.02 x 10(4), 8.34 x 10(3), 6.86 x 10(3), 5.42 x 10(3), 3.35 x 10(3) and 2.32 x 10(4)Lmol(-1) cm(-1) using reagents I-VI, respectively. The limits of detection and Sandell's sensitivities were calculated. The methods were successfully applied to the analysis of commercial tablets (Vigoran) and the recovery study reveals that there is no interference from the common excipients that are present in tablets. Statistical comparison of the results was performed with regard to accuracy and precision using Student's t- and F-tests at 95% confidence level. There is no significant difference between the reported and proposed methods with regard to accuracy and precision.

The usefulness of 2D DOSY and 3D DOSY-COSY 1H NMR for mixture analysis: application to genuine and fake formulations of sildenafil (Viagra)

Two-dimensional diffusion ordered spectroscopy (DOSY) (1)H NMR is proposed to analyze drugs that are complex mixtures in order to discriminate genuine from fake formulations. The method was applied to the analysis of 17 formulations of sildenafil, one being genuine Viagra and the others illegally manufactured formulations of this drug coming from India, Syria and China. It enabled (i) distinguishing imitations or counterfeit from the authentic formulation, (ii) detecting the presence of sildenafil or adulterants, (iii) gaining information on the formulation process by detection of various excipients, thus giving a precise and global 'signature' of the manufacturer. Even though some samples are slightly overdosed, the quality of products manufactured in India and Syria was better than that of Chinese formulations which were adulterated with vardenafil and homosildenafil. This study also presents a three-dimensional DOSY-COSY (1)H NMR experiment that provides both virtual separation and structural information.

Resonance Rayleigh-Scattering Method for the Determination of Sildenafil Citrate in a Pharmaceutical Formulation Using Evans Blue

A highly sensitive resonance Rayleigh-scattering (RRS) method for the determination of sildenafil citrate has been developed, based on the fact that sildenafil (Sild) reacted with Evans Blue (EB) to form an ion-association complex in pH 1.1 - 4.6 aqueous solution. This resulted in a significant enhancement of the RRS intensity, and a new spectrum appeared. The wavelength of the maximum RRS was at 365 nm, and other scattering peaks were at 400, 442, 470 and 534 nm, respectively. The intensity of RRS was directly proportional to the concentration of Sild in the range 0 - 11.5 microg ml(-1), and the detection limit for Sild (3 sigma) was 30.3 ng ml(-1). The composition of the ion-association complex was Sild:EB = 1:1, as established by Job's method. The method had good selectivity and could be applied to the determination of Sild in the aqueous phase without using organic solvent extraction. The method was simple and rapid. In addition, the reaction mechanism and the reason for RRS enhancement were considered.

Simultaneous determination of sildenafil, vardenafil and tadalafil as forbidden components in natural dietary supplements for male sexual potency by high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

A high-performance liquid chromatographic method coupled with ultraviolet detection and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (HPLC-UV-ESI-MS) was developed for simultaneous determination of banned additives-sildenafil, vardenafil and tadalafil in dietary supplements for male sexual potency. The separation was achieved on a C18 column with acetonitrile and aqueous solution (20 mmol ammonium acetate, 0.2% formic acid) as mobile phase at a flow rate of I ml/min with a linear gradient program. UV detection was at 292 nm. Identification of drugs was accomplished using ESI-MS. Good linearity between response (peak area) and concentration was found over a concentration range of 0.8-80 microg/ml for sildenafil; 2.25-225 microg/ml for vardenafil; and 1.1-110 microg/ml for tadalafil, with regression coefficient is better than 0.999. The recovery of the method ranged from 93.3 to 106.1%, and the relative standard deviation varied from 2.0 to 5.6% (n = 6). The method has been successfully applied to the analysis of practical samples of natural dietary supplements.

1H, 13C, 15N NMR analysis of sildenafil base and citrate (Viagra) in solution, solid state and pharmaceutical dosage forms

Sildenafil citrate (SC) (Viagra) and sildenafil base in pure form are easily and unequivocally characterized by multinuclear NMR spectroscopy. Analysis of chemical shifts indicates that: (i) N6-H forms intramolecular hydrogen bonds, (ii) N25 is protonated in the salt and (iii) intermolecular OH...N hydrogen bonds involving N2 and N4 are present in the solid sildenafil citrate. 13C CPMAS NMR method has been proposed for the identification and quantitation of Viagra in its pharmaceutical formulations.

Separation and determination of synthetic impurities of sildenafil (Viagra) by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography

A simple and rapid high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the separation and determination of process-related impurities of sildenafil was developed. The separation was achieved on a reversed-phase C18 column using acetonitrile-0.05 M potassium dihydrogen orthophosphate (70:30 v/v) as a mobile solvent at a flow rate of 1.0 ml/min and UV detection at 230 nm. The method was used not only for quality assurance, but also for monitoring the chemical reactions during the synthesis of sildenafil. It was found to be specific, precise and reliable for the determination of all process-related impurities of sildenafil in bulk drugs and formulations.