Analytical study proving alprazolam degradation to its main impurity triazolaminoquinoleine through Maillard reaction.

Triazolaminoquinoleine is rapidly formed in formulations of alprazolam tablets in presence of excipients, and its generation is speeded up with increasing temperature and humidity. The present paper deals with detailed quantitative and qualitative studies into the nonactive constituents of the formulation in order to determine the excipient (or the mixture) responsible for the degradation. Our studies have demonstrated that reducing carbohydrate excipients play a fundamental role in the generation of triazolaminoquinoleine, with lactose as the main one responsible, through a Maillard reaction. In order to demonstrate the validity of the proposed degradation mechanism, p-nitrobenzaldehyde has been employed as a model of reaction of the nucleophylic attack of amino-opened structure of alprazolam to an aldehyde to generate the first intermediate involved in Maillard reaction, a Schiff base. This model enables the identification of all the intermediates by mass spectrometry and/or nuclear magnetic resonance techniques, with the outcome of this experiment leading to a full understanding of the generation pathway. Calcium carbonate has been proposed as a possible tablet diluent replacing lactose in the pharmaceutical formulation.

Ultra rapid liquid chromatography as second dimension in a comprehensive two-dimensional method for the screening of pharmaceutical samples in stability and stress studies.

Separation orthogonality has been explored with respect to comprehensive two-dimensional liquid chromatography (2D-LC) for different reversed-phase stationary phases. The outcome of this study points out an SB-CN x BEH-C18 combination, used in the first and the second dimension, respectively, as the most orthogonal chromatographic system for the samples assayed. The present investigation reports the employment of an ultra high pressure liquid chromatography system (UPLC) as the second chromatographic dimension, increasing the sensitivity and the speed, completing the whole chromatographic separation in a reasonable time frame. Finally, an off-line 2D-LC method with diode array detection based on the UPLC has been optimized, allowing the separation and minimizing the run time. SB-CN and BEH-C18 were employed as first and second dimension, respectively, with gradient elution applied in each dimension. Alprazolam degraded tablets were studied as a proof of concept of the utility of this type of setups for impurity profiling of complex samples.

Isolation, identification and determination of the major degradation product in alprazolam tablets during their stability assay.

The presence of a degradation product of alprazolam tablets that emerged throughout a short-stability assay has been determined and properly characterized. For this purpose an efficient methodology has been successfully applied, including SPE and HPLC methods for isolation and purification, respectively. LC/MS, MS/MS, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, UV and IR have been employed for structural elucidation confirming the identity of this impurity as 7-chloro-1-methyl-5-phenyl-[1,2,4]triazolo[4,3-a]quinolin-4-amine or triazolaminoquinoleine. The impurity, previously described as a long-term photodegradation product of alprazolam active pharmaceutical ingredient, was rapidly formed in the absence of light, but required the presence of excipients and its rate of formation increased with heat and humidity. In addition, a LC method has been developed and validated including triazolaminoquinoleine for the adequate determination of alprazolam and its mayor degradation product in tablets as pharmaceutical forms.

Tandem column for the simultaneous determination of arginine, ibuprofen and related impurities by liquid chromatography.

Ibuprofen arginate is a rapidly absorbed salt designed to promote more rapid onset of analgesia than commercially available forms of ibuprofen. Ibuprofen and arginine have very different polarities and this becomes in a chromatographic problem, further complicated with the determination of related compounds, which is necessary in stability assays of the pharmaceutical forms. The common solution is the employment of two separate methods, but this is time consuming. A LC method has been developed to determinate both compounds and related impurities in one run. Ibuprofen, arginine and three ibuprofen related impurities (B, E and J) have been baseline separated with isocratic conditions at pH 3.0 and run time under 20 min by employing a tandem combination of two different stationary phases: first a ZORBAX SB-C18 column from Agilent (250 mm x 4.6 mm and 5 microm) and downstream a SUPELCOSIL LC-NH2 column from Supelco (150 mm x 4.6 mm and 3 microm). The octadecyldiisobutylsilane column provides the separation of ibuprofen and its impurities by a hydrophobic mechanism, whereas aminopropyl column offers selective retention of arginine by dipolar interaction mechanism. Method has been successfully validated following ICH guidelines and it has been demonstrated to be reliable for arginine, ibuprofen and related impurities determination in sachets of two different dosages as pharmaceutical forms. Moreover, stress test has proved the selectivity of the method for degradation products, such as those that can emerge throughout long-term stability assays.

LC methods for acyclovir and related impurities determination.

Acyclovir, guanine, and impurity A have been baseline separated with isocratic conditions at pH=3.0 and run time under 15 min by employing a SB-CN column from Agilent (150 mm x 4.6mm and 3.5 microm). Moreover, when run time was increased to 40 min six impurities (guanine, impurities A, F, G, Vir 3/4 and N(7)) plus acyclovir were separated in the same conditions. The mobile phase consisted of buffer A/acetonitrile 96:4 (v/v), being buffer A:25 mM H(3)PO(4) (Milli-Q H(2)O) brought to pH 3.0 with KOH. The same column provided separation for all the seven impurities described in pharmacopoeia, including impurity C, which coeluted with acyclovir in the previous conditions with a mobile phase prepared with 25 mM phosphoric acid (pH=1.8)/acetonitrile 96:4 (v/v). The method has been validated following ICH guidelines and it has demonstrated to be reliable for acyclovir and its impurities determination.

Rapid analytical procedure for neomycin determination in ointments by CE with direct UV detection.

The purpose of this study was the development of an analytical methodology for the determination of neomycin in a complex pharmaceutical preparation. The simplified methodology consisted of a primary liquid-liquid extraction, employing a mixture of chloroform and water (1.25:1, v/v) and subsequent analysis by CE applying a capillary zone electrophoresis method with a 30 cm (effective length), 50 microm (internal diameter) polyacrylamide-coated silica capillary. The background electrolyte consisted of 35 mM phosphate and 15 mM acetate buffer set at pH 4.7, under normal polarity mode and direct UV detection at 200 nm. The separation of the target analyte from the complex matrix was accomplished in less than 3 min. The analytical method was successfully validated in order to verify its proper selectivity, linearity, accuracy and precision for the goal intended and its further implementation for the quantification of the active compound in the pharmaceutical speciality for quality control.