AQbD based green UPLC method to determine mycophenolate mofetil impurities and Identification of degradation products by QToF LCMS

Current green capillary electrophoresis and liquid chromatography methods for analysis of pharmaceutical and biomedical samples (2019-2023) - A review

Separation analytical methods, including liquid chromatography (LC) and capillary electrophoresis (CE), in combination with an appropriate detection technique, are dominant and powerful approaches preferred in the analysis of pharmaceutical and biomedical samples. Recent trends in analytical methods are focused on activities that push them to the field of greenness and sustainability. New approaches based on the implementation of greener solvents, non-hazardous chemicals, and reagents have grown exponentially. Similarly, recent trends are pushed in to the strategies based on miniaturization, reduction of wastes, avoiding derivatization procedures, or reduction of energy consumption. However, the real greenness of the analytical method can be evaluated only according to an objective and sufficient metric offering complex results taking into account all twelve rules of green analytical chemistry (SIGNIFICANCE mnemonic system). This review provides an extensive overview of papers published in the area of development of green LC and CE methods in the field of pharmaceutical and biomedical analysis over the last 5 years (2019-2023). The main focus is situated on the metrics used for greenness evaluation of the methods applied for the determination of bioactive agents. It critically evaluates and compares the demands of the real applicability of the methods in quality control and clinical environment with the requirements of the green analytical chemistry (GAC). Greenness and practicality of the summarized methods are re-evaluated or newly evaluated with the use of the dominant metrics tools, i.e., Analytical GREEnness (AGREE), Green Analytical Procedure Index (GAPI), Blue Applicability Grade Index (BAGI), and Sample Preparation Metric of Sustainability (SPMS). Moreover, general conclusions and future perspectives of the greening procedures and greenness evaluation metrics systems are presented. This paper should provide comprehensive information to analytical chemists, biochemists, and it can also represent a valuable source of information for clinicians, biomedical or quality control laboratories interested in development of analytical methods based on greenness, practicality, and sustainability.

Quality by Design Tool Assessed Ultraperformance Liquid Chromatography Method for the Analysis of Remogliflozin and Teneligliptin in Oral Dosage Form

The UPLC methodology was used to establish a method for determining the qualitative and quantitative content of teneligliptin and remogliflozin tablets in oral solid dose form, as no simultaneous method was available. The developed liquid chromatography method consists of an X-Bridge C18 100 mm × 3.5 mm, 2.1 mm column with an economical 0.2 mL/min flow rate. A wavelength of 248 nm was used for detection, and the temperature of the column compartment was 30 °C. The method was evaluated using a static tool quality by design after it was validated as per the regulations. The data from validation result in linearity for both analytes with a correlation coefficient of more than 0.999. The accuracy data were found from a minimum of 98.1 to a maximum of 100.9. All of the validation results met the acceptance criteria. The stability of the analytical solutions proved for 24 h at bench and refrigerator temperatures. Studies of force degradation proved the stability indicating the nature of the method. A factorial design was used to evaluate the method performance.

A brief review on application of design of experiment for the analysis of pharmaceuticals using HPLC

The quality pioneer Dr. Joseph M. Juran first proposed the idea of quality by design. According to him, pharmaceutical quality by design is an organised approach to product development that starts with predetermined goals and places an emphasis on product, process understanding, control based on reliable science and quality risk management. The quality of a product or process can typically be affected by a number of input elements. Design of experiments has been employed widely recently to understand the impacts of multidimensional and interactions of input parameters on the output responses of analytical procedures and pharmaceutical goods. Depending on the design of experiments objectives, screening, characterization, or optimization of the process and formulation, a variety of designs, such as factorial or mixture, can be used. The most popular designs used in the stage of screening or factor selection are the 2-Level Factorial and Plackett-Burman designs, both of which have two levels for each factor (k), both economical and effective, and in optimization widely used designs in this step are full factorial at three levels, central composite, Box-Behnken design. The analysis of variance, regression significance, and lack of fit of the regression model were some of the key topics covered in the discussion of the main components of multiple regression model adjustment. Design of experiments is thus the primary element of the formulation and analytical quality by design. The details about design of experiments used for the analysis of pharmaceutical formulation using HPLC.

Synthesis and Trace-Level Quantification of Mutagenic and Cohort-of-Concern Ciprofloxacin Nitroso Drug Substance-Related Impurities (NDSRIs) and Other Nitroso Impurities Using UPLC-ESI-MS/MS-Method Optimization Using I-Optimal Mixture Design

Globally, the pharmaceutical industry has been facing challenges from nitroso drug substance-related impurities (NDSRIs). In the current study, we synthesized and developed a rapid new UPLC-MS/MS method for the trace-level quantification of ciprofloxacin NDSRIs and a couple of N-nitroso impurities simultaneously. (Q)-SAR methodology was employed to assess and categorize the genotoxicity of all ciprofloxacin N-nitroso impurities. The projected results were positive, and the cohort of concern (CoC) for all three N-nitroso impurities indicates potential genotoxicity. AQbD-driven I-optimal mixture design was used to optimize the mixture of solvents in the method. The chromatographic resolution was accomplished using an Agilent Poroshell 120 Aq-C18 column (150 mm × 4.6 mm, 2.7 μm) in isocratic elution mode with 0.1% formic acid in a mixture of water, acetonitrile, and methanol in the ratio of 475:500:25 v/v/v at a flow rate of 0.5 mL/min. Quantification was carried out using triple quadrupole mass detection with electrospray ionization (ESI) in a multiple reaction monitoring technique. The finalized method was validated successfully, affording ICH guidelines. All N-nitroso impurities revealed excellent linearity over the concentration range of 0.00125-0.0250 ppm. The Pearson correlation coefficient of each N-nitroso impurity was >0.999. The method accuracy recoveries ranged from 93.98 to 108.08% for the aforementioned N-nitrosamine impurities. Furthermore, the method was effectively applied to quantify N-nitrosamine impurities simultaneously in commercially available formulated samples, with its efficiency recurring at trace levels. Thus, the current method is capable of determining the trace levels of three N-nitroso ciprofloxacin impurities simultaneously from the marketed tablet dosage forms for commercial release and stability testing.

Eco-friendly liquid chromatography method for the quantification of ibrutinib in a pharmaceutical dosage form

The objective of this study was to quantitatively determine Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitor ibrutinib in its capsule dosage form and assess the homogeneity of the dosage form using green chromatography. The chromatographic method using gradient elution mode was optimized and validated in accordance with the International Council for Harmonization guidelines. The analysis was conducted on a Zodiac C18 column (75 × 4.6 mm and 3.5 μm) using a mobile phase consisting of pH 5.5 potassium phosphate buffer (mobile phase A) and 90% ethanol in milli-Q water (mobile phase B), with a flow rate set at 0.6 mL/min. Based on the validation data, the accuracy results fell within the range of 99.1%-100.6%. The relative standard deviation (% RSD) from precision for both the assays and the uniformity of dosage by content uniformity were determined to be 0.82 and 1.16, respectively. The correlation coefficient obtained from the linearity experiment was 0.999, indicating a strong linear relationship. The greenness of the developed method was assessed using various tools, including the National Environmental Methods Index (NEMI) pictogram, Modified NEMI, Analytical Eco-score calculation, Green Analytical Procedure Index (GAPI) pictogram, Analytical GREEnness (AGREE), and AGREE preparation (AGREEprep). The obtained greenness profile suggests that the optimized LC method is an excellent greener method, supported by the analytical eco-score of 86.

A sensitive ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method for the simultaneous quantification of assay and trace-level genotoxic tosylate analogs (methyl and ethyl) in empagliflozin and its tablet dosage forms

This study performed the simultaneous quantification of assay and two alkyl sulfonate (tosylate) analogs of empagliflozin (EGZ), specifically methyl 4-methyl benzene sulfonate (MMBS) and ethyl 4-methyl benzene sulfonate (EMBS) in EGZ, and its finished dosage form using an accurate and sensitive ultra-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry method. The separation was achieved on a Waters Acquity BEH Shield RP18 (100 × 2.1 mm, 1.7 μm) column in gradient elution mode with 0.1% formic acid and acetonitrile as the mobile phases and a flow rate of 0.5 mL/min. For simultaneous quantification, the multiple reaction monitoring technique was utilized. The procedure was successfully validated in accordance with the International Council for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH) guidelines. The peak areas of both impurities, along with their concentrations, exhibited a good relationship with Pearson's correlation coefficient (R), which was >0.999 in the range of 0.3-6 ppm with an EGZ concentration of 2 mg/mL. The percentage recoveries from the limit of quantitation (LOQ) to 200% to the specification level were in the range of 94.82%-102.92%, whereas the percentage relative standard deviation (%RSD) was <2. Therefore, this method is rapid and accurate to quantify MMBS, EMBS, and EGZ assay simultaneously from the marketed tablet dosage forms of EGZ for commercial release and stability sample testing.

An integrated framework to develop an efficient valid green (EVG) HPLC method for the assessment of antimicrobial pollutants with potential threats to human health in aquatic systems

The persistence of antimicrobial drugs in aquatic environments has raised critical concerns about their possible impact on drinkable water quality and human health. The Nile River is experiencing water pollution owing to increasing discharges of highly contaminated home and industrial effluents and inadequate water management systems. Investigations of the presence of three antimicrobial agents, ciprofloxacin (CIP), sulfamethoxazole (SMZ), and albendazole (ALB), in the Egyptian aquatic system are recommended using a chromatographic method because of their reported existence in the African aquatic environment. In this study, an integrated framework, Efficient Valid Green (EVG), for analytical techniques is proposed and displayed via its radar chart. The EVG framework is achieved through three main pillars: efficiency, validation, and greenness. The proposed EVG-HPLC method was developed and optimized using the AQbD methodology via a face-centered composite (FCC) design by identifying the proper critical method parameters (CMPs) that influence critical quality attributes (CQAs). The method was fully validated according to ICH guidelines, including a factorial robustness study within concentration ranges of 1-100 μg mL-1, 2-100 μg mL-1, and 10-100 μg mL-1 for CIP, SMZ, and ALB, respectively. The proposed method was evaluated in terms of greenness using AGREE (score 0.55) and ComplexGAPI metrics. The optimized chromatographic conditions included a C18 column and a mobile phase of water : acetonitrile : methanol in a ratio of 60 : 19 : 21, v/v/v, respectively, with an aqueous solution of pH 3.5 adjusted with phosphoric acid at a flow rate of 1.57 mL min-1 at 285 nm. The raw water samples collected from Nile River freshwater at different locations were treated using Oasis® PRiME HLB cartridges with satisfactory recoveries for the three analytes (>90%), and the three drugs were detected using the proposed EVG-HPLC method.

A sensitive UPLC-MS/MS method for the simultaneous assay and trace level genotoxic impurities quantification of SARS-CoV-2 inhibitor-Molnupiravir in its pure and formulation dosage forms using fractional factorial design

Two potential genotoxic impurities were identified (PGTIs)-viz. 4-amino-1-((2R,3R,4S,5R)-3,4-dihydroxy-5-(hydroxymethyl)tetrahydrofuran-2-yl)pyrimidin-2(1H)-one (PGTI-1), and 1-(2R,3R,4S,5R)-3,4-dihydroxy-5-(hydroxymethyl)tetrahydrofuran-2-yl)pyrimidin-2,4(1H,3H)-one (PGTI-II) in the Molnupiravir (MOPR) synthetic routes. COVID-19 disease was treated with MOPR when mild to moderate symptoms occurred. Two (Q)-SAR methods were used to assess the genotoxicity, and projected results were positive and categorized into Class-3 for both PGTIs. A simple, accurate and highly sensitive ultra-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method was optimized for the simultaneous quantification of the assay, and these impurities in MOPR drug substance and formulation dosage form. The multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) technique was utilized for the quantification. Prior to the validation study, the UPLC-MS method conditions were optimised using fractional factorial design (FrFD). The optimized Critical Method Parameters (CMPs) include the percentage of Acetonitrile in MP B, Concentration of Formic acid in MP A, Cone Voltage, Capillary Voltage, Collision gas flow and Desolvation temperature were determined from the numerical optimization to be 12.50 %, 0.13 %, 13.6 V, 2.6 kV, 850 L/hr and 375 °C, respectively. The optimized chromatographic separation achieved on Waters Acquity HSS T3 C18 column (100 mm × 2.1 mm, 1.8 µm) in a gradient elution mode with 0.13% formic acid in water and acetonitrile as mobile phases, column temperature kept at 35 °C and flow rate at 0.5 mL/min. The method was successfully validated as per ICH guidelines, and demonstrated excellent linearity over the concentration range of 0.5-10 ppm for both PGTIs. The Pearson correlation coefficient of each impurity and MOPR was found to be higher than 0.999, and the recoveries were in between the range of 94.62 to 104.05% for both PGTIs and 99.10 to 100.25% for MOPR. It is also feasible to utilise this rapid method to quantify MOPR accurately in biological samples.

Stability-indicating method development and validation for quantitative estimation of organic impurities of the antidiabetic drug glipizide in drug substance and pharmaceutical dosage form using HPLC

Glipizide is an antidiabetic drug used for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. A simple, reliable and robust reverse-phase liquid chromatographic method (RP-HPLC) was developed and validated as per International Conference on Harmonization Q2(R1) for estimating the impurities of glipizide in pharmaceutical formulations. The chromatographic separation was carried out on a Phenomenex Luna C18 (2), 250 × 4.6 mm, 5 μm with a binary solvent delivery system [MP-A, a homogenous mixture of water and acetonitrile in a ratio of 90:10 (v/v) and 1 ml of orthophosphoric acid; and MP-B, a homogenous mixture of water and acetonitrile in a ratio of 10:90 (v/v) and 1 ml of orthophosphoric acid] with a detection wavelength of 225 nm, a column temperature of 30°C, a flow rate of 1.5 ml/min, and an injection volume of 20 μl. All process, degradant and unknown impurities were separated well with a resolution >2.2 and were estimated accurately without any interference. The recovered values and regression values were 98.7-100.5% and R2  > 0.9999, respectively. The recovery and linearity studies covered the quantitation limit to 150% of the specification limit. The stability-indicating properties of the developed RP-HPLC method was assessed from the forced degradation studies. The developed method was successfully applied for real-time sample analysis of the glipizide dosage form.

Quality by design tool-evaluated stability-indicating ultra-performance liquid chromatography method for the determination of drugs (ritonavir and darunavir) used to treat the human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome

Ritonavir and darunavir were examined using a ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) approach in pharmaceutical dosage forms. The small number of analytical studies that are currently available do not demonstrate the method's stability or nature. The study sought to assess both chemicals using a stability-indicating approach with a relatively short run time. The HSS C18 (100 × 2.1 mm), 2-mm column was used for the chromatographic separation, and isocratic elution was used to achieve this. In the mobile phase, methanol and 0.01 M phosphate buffer (pH 4.0) were included in a 60:40 (v/v) ratio. Throughout the analysis, the flow rate was kept at 0.2 mL min-1 , and a photodiode array detector set to 266 nm was used to find the major components. The proposed method showed a linear response (r2  > 0.999), and the accuracy was between 98.0% and 102.0%. The precision data showed relative standard deviation ≤1.0%. The UPLC method for quantification of ritonavir and darunavir in pharmaceutical dosage forms using a very short run time of under a minute is the subject of the proposed article. To meet current regulatory criteria, the quality by design idea was used in the method performance verification.

Antimicrobial action and chemical and physical properties of CuO-doped engineered cementitious composites

CuO nanoparticles (NPs) were added to cement matrices in quantities of 0.25, 0.50 and 1.00 wt% to inhibit the growth of Gram-positive (Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram-negative (Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli) bacteria. It was shown that CuO NPs, in all tested concentrations, improved the antibacterial properties of the cement matrix. Nevertheless, the best mechanical, structural and durability properties were obtained for cement composites doped with CuO NPs at 0.25 wt%. Larger amounts of NPs caused a decrease in all parameters relative to the reference mortar, which may be the result of a slight change in the porosity of the composite microstructure. For 0.50 wt% CuO NPs, a slight increase in the volume of micropores in the cement matrix was observed, and an increased number of larger pores was confirmed by non-invasive computed tomography (CT). The reduction in the mechanical parameters of composites with 0.50 and 1.00 wt% CuO NPs may also be due to the slower hydration of the cement binder, as confirmed by changes in the heat of hydration for these configurations, or agglomeration of NPs, especially for the 1.00 wt% concentration, which was manifested in a decrease in the plasticity of the mortars.

An effective and stability-indicating method development and optimization utilizing the Box-Behnken design for the simultaneous determination of acetaminophen, caffeine, and aspirin in tablet formulation

Analytical techniques must be sensitive, specific, and accurate to assess the active pharmaceutical ingredients in pharmaceutical dosage forms. The quality-by-design (QbD) application has proven to be a practical method for magnifying HPLC operations. This article discusses the successfully developed QbD-based stability-indicative LC method for evaluating acetaminophen, caffeine, and aspirin (ASP) in tablet dosage form. To achieve the necessary chromatographic separation, Milli-Q water, methanol, and glacial acetic acid were employed in the following ratios: 63:35:2 (v/v/v) for mobile phase A and 18:80:2 (v/v/v) for mobile phase B. The flow rate, column temperature, and detecting wavelength were 1.0 ml/min, 40°C, and 275 nm, respectively, and an InertSustain C18 analytical column (150 × 4.6 mm, 3 μm) was used. Linearity was between 10.0 and 150.0 μg/ml for ASP and acetaminophen and between 2.6 and 39.0 μg/ml for caffeine. The accuracy findings were more than 97%, and the correlation coefficient for all three components was found to be greater than 0.999. The validated HPLC method yielded reliable and accurate results. ASP was shown to be vulnerable to both acid and alkaline hydrolysis in the forced degradation study. The described method is capable of separating the degradants produced during stress testing and is regarded as stability indicating. The proposed method can be used for a wider range of other formulations with an appropriate diluent selection and sample preparation procedure optimization.

QbD-based stability-indicating liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) method for the determination of flurbiprofen in cataplasm

A nonsteroidal drug called flurbiprofen (FBN) has analgesic, anti-inflammatory and antipyretic activity. Currently the determination of FBN in cataplasm does not have any pharmacopeial method. However, the drug substance, tablet and ophthalmic solution formulations do have pharmacopeial methods. The development and validation of an accurate, precise and stability-indicating analytical method for the determination of FBN in cataplasm formulations is reported. The gradient method was employed for the quantification of FBN in the presence of internal standards such as biphenyl. A nonpolar separation phase (C₁₈ , 250 × 4.6 mm, 5 μm Inertsil column; GL Sciences) was used. The optimal flow rate, column oven temperature, injection volume and detector wavelengths were 1.0 ml/min, 40°C, 20 μl and 245 nm, respectively. Mobile phase A was a mixture of water and glacial acetic acid (30:1 v/v) pH adjusted to 2.20 with glacial acetic acid or 1 m NaOH; mobile phase B was methanol (100%). The gradient elution program was [time (min)/% B]: 5/60, 20/70, 25/70, 30/60 and 40/60. The obtained RSDs for the precision and intermediate precision were 0.7 and 0.5%. The percentage recovery ranged from 99.2 to 100.4%. The linear regression coefficient >0.9996 indicates that all peak responses were linear with the concentration. The sample and standard solutions were stable for up to 24 h on the benchtop and in the refrigerator. The critical peaks were well separated from the generated peaks owing to forced degradation, including diluent and placebo peaks. The method validation data and quality by design-based robustness study results indicate that the developed method is robust and fit for routine use in the quality control laboratory. The proposed method is specific, accurate and precise, and the quality by design utilized the first method for the determination of FBN in cataplasm formulations. Transdermal patches and gels have low extraction capacity and this method is applicable for quantification.

Determination and quantification of related substances and degradation products in bictegravir by full factorial design evaluated HPLC and mass spectrometry

Determining and quantifying novel impurities and degraded impurities of a drug product is always a continuous challenge to enhancing the drug quality for patients' safety. Herein, our work deals with (i) developing a rapid, accurate, and reliable high-performance liquid chromatographic validation method to quantify the bictegravir drug (integrase inhibitors of antiretroviral drugs) and its novel related impurities at low levels, and (ii) the liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) method to identify degraded impurities. Separation of bictegravir acid (impurity-I) and methyl bictegravir (impurity-II) impurities which are identified by LC-MS in the bictegravir drug was executed by developing a method and the same method performance evaluated by using full factorial design. This developed analytical technique gave a well-separated peak of bictegravir and related analytes such as bictegravir acid (impurity-I) and methyl bictegravir (impurity-II), adequate with the peak properties as per USP guidelines. The method's sensitivity and linearity are demonstrated by its detection and quantification limits at low levels with a correlation coefficient of 0.998. The method's repeatability, specificity, and accuracy suggest that this developed technique is a reliable determination strategy for the bictegravir drug substance and its related impurities (impurity-I and impurity-II) in a simple, feasible, and affordable way.

A combined qualitative and quantitative method development and validation of vancomycin hydrochloride injection formulation by HPLC and UV involving quality by design

A selective, specific, precise, linear, accurate and robust analytical method was developed and validated for the assay of vancomycin HCl in vancomycin hydrochloride injection. Comparative UV spectrophotometric and reverse-phase HPLC were used to develop the quantitative determination. Acetonitrile and pH 2.2 phosphate buffer in the ratio 20:80 v/v were used as the mobile phase, and a flow rate of 1.0 ml/min with a 20 min run time. The detection was carried out at 235 nm with a Nucleosil C₁₈ (250 × 4.6 mm) 10 μm column, and the ambient column temperature was maintained. The method uses a 20 μl injection volume and diluent as a blank solution in this connection. The method was validated as per the current regulatory guidelines. The linearity of this method was found to be linear in the range of 50-150% of the working concentration, and the correlation coefficient was >0.999. The method's accuracy was within the acceptable range, which was 98.1-101.5%. The method's precision was within an acceptable range of about 0.32% RSD. The analytical solution was stable for up to 48 h at room temperature. The method's robustness was proved by utilizing quality design tools. Stress studies demonstrated the method's stability-indicating nature.