Analytical characterization and differentiation between threo- and erythro-4-fluoroethylphenidate.

PURPOSE: Methylphenidate analogs appeared on the drug market during the last years. Its analogs contain two chiral centers and, thus, have potential varying configurations (i.e., threo and erythro forms). This study presents the analytical characterization of 4-fluoroethylphenidate (4-FEP) and its differentiation between threo- and erythro-4-FEP. METHODS: Analysis of the samples included high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), gas chromatography-electron ionization-mass spectrometry (GC-EI-MS), high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) analyses, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and X-ray crystal structure analysis. RESULTS: NMR spectroscopic investigations confirmed the differences between threo- and erythro-4-FEP, and demonstrated that both isomers could be separated using HPLC and GC methods. Two samples obtained from one vendor in 2019 consisted of threo-4-FEP, whereas the other two samples obtained from a different vendor in 2020 consisted of a mixture of threo- and erythro-4-FEP. CONCLUSIONS: Several analytical approaches including HPLC, GC-EI-MS, HRMS analyses, NMR spectroscopy and X-ray crystal structure analysis enabled the unambiguous identification of threo- and erythro-4-FEP. The analytical data presented in this article will be useful for identifying threo- and erythro-4-FEP included in illicit products.

[Improvement Method of Confirmation Test of the In-pharmacy Formulation as Topical Medicine No. 37-①].

Topical Medicine No. 37-① is one of the in-pharmacy formulation that specifies a confirmation test (referred hereafter as the conventional method) to identify its ingredient diphenhydramine (DH) by colorimetric test. However, the conventional method is environmentally unfriendly due to the large amount of sample and organic solvent used, and the extraction process is complicated. We therefore developed three methods in view of improving the currently confirmation testing process: a simplified version of the conventional method, a TLC method, and an LC/photodiode array detector (PDA) method. The LC/PDA method was also examined for the quantitation of DH in order to determine its content in the medicine when needed. The LC/PDA method also demonstrated sufficient linearity in the calibration curve and recovery rate. We also evaluated whether the three methods developed in this study could be applied to Topical Medicine No. 37-①, which is made of absorptive cream containing different parabens.

Structural characterization of dimethyldithiodenafil and dimethylthiocarbodenafil, analogs of sildenafil.

Two analogs of sildenafil (compounds 1 and 2) were detected in three powder products acquired from online drug markets during an LC-UV-MS analysis of psychotropic drugs. Their structures were established by high-resolution mass spectrometry and NMR spectroscopy. Compound 1 was identified as 5-(5-(3,5-dimethylpiperazine-1-carbonothioyl)-2-ethoxyphenyl)-1-methyl-3-propyl-1H-pyrazolo[4,3-d]pyrimidine-7(6H)-thione and named dimethyldithiodenafil. Compound 2 was identified as 5-(5-(3,5-dimethylpiperazine-1-carbonothioyl)-2-ethoxyphenyl)-1-methyl-3-propyl-1H-pyrazolo[4,3-d]pyrimidin-7(6H)-one and named dimethylthiocarbodenafil. Compound 1 was subjected to the phosphodiesterase assay (IC50=0.20nM). The three powder products were found to contain 12-19mg of dimethyldithiodenafil and 1.4-3.9mg of dimethylthiocarbodenafil per tube.

Determination of thyroid hormones in pharmaceutical preparations, after derivatization with 9-anthroylnitrile, by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection.

HPLC with fluorescence detection was used for the determination of low levels of liothyronine sodium and levothyroxine sodium in pharmaceutical preparations after fluorogenic derivatization. 9-Anthroylnitrile in dimethyl sulfoxide was used as a precolumn fluorogenic reagent. The 9-anthroylnitrile derivatives of liothyronine sodium and levothyroxine sodium were separated on a reversed-phase column with acetonitrile-0.02 M sodium dodecylsulfate (pH 3.5 with phosphoric acid) as the eluent. The calibration graphs were linear over a sample concentration range of 0.25-2.5 microg/ml. The detection limits for liothyronine sodium and levothyroxine sodium were 0.2 ng per injection. The proposed method was applied to the determination of thyroid hormones in pharmaceutical preparations.

Simultaneous determination of eleven dyes and their aluminum lakes in drugs.

A 3-step extraction method was developed for the simultaneous determination of 11 dyes and their aluminum lakes in drugs. The dyes were first extracted with warm water (approximately 60 degrees C) and were cleaned up by solid-phase extraction with a tC18 cartridge. Aluminum lake dyes that remained in the precipitate were extracted with 0.02M NaOH. Aluminum in the dye lakes was reextracted into the organic layer with acetylacetone-butyl acetate (1 + 9, v/v), as an acetylacetone chelate, and was quantified by atomic absorption spectrometry. The dye portions of the aluminum lakes remained in the aqueous layer and were cleaned up in the same way as the dyes. The dyes and the dye portions of the aluminum lakes were quantified by ion-pair liquid chromatography with a photodiode array detector within 20 min. The recoveries of dyes from drug fortified at 10 microg of each dye per pill were 87.0-102.2%, and the recoveries of dyes from drugs fortified at 50 microg of each dye lake per pill were 82.9-101.6%, except for recoveries of indigo carmine. In 40 ethical and over-the-counter drugs, dyes that were not indicated in the package insert information for drugs were detected in 5 samples. The highest amount of dye found in a drug was 1169.5 microg erythrosine, which was detected in a capsule of antibiotic. Aluminum lake dyes were detected in 8 samples of various dosage forms.

[Enantiomeric determination of ephedrine derivatives in unregulated drugs using capillary electrophoresis].

Capillary electrophoresis (CE) was applied to enantiomeric separation of chiral ephedrine derivatives (d/l-ephedrine, d/l-methylephedrine, d/l-pseudoephedrine, and d/l-norephedrine) in unregulated drug products. Unregulated drugs, referred to as dietary supplements in U.S.A., have been used legally as tonic agents, but illegal substances such as ephedrine were often detected. Baseline separation of all enantiomers of ephedrine derivatives was achieved using an electrophoretic solution containing heptakis (2,6-di-O-methyl)-beta-cyclodextrin (DM-CD) as a chiral selector. The optimal conditions were established to be: capillary column of fused silica (50 microm i.d. x 56 cm); running buffer of 20 mM DM-CD with 50 mM potassium dihydrogenphosphate background electrolyte, pH 2.6; capillary temperature of 20 degrees C; applied voltage of 30 kV; on-column detection at 195 nm; and injection pressure of 50 mbar x 3 s. Under these conditions, all four pairs of enantiomers were sufficiently resolved, and eight peaks were observed with resolution factors of greater than 1.5. The calibration curves of all enantiomers showed good linearity over the concentration range of 2.5-10 microg/ml (r =0.999). The present method was used in a survey of marketed products. The resultant chiral contents were reported and the analytical data were also compared with those from HPLC. This method is useful in the simple and rapid analysis of ephedrine derivatives in marketed products.

Creation and application of psychoactive designer drugs data library using liquid chromatography with photodiode array spectrophotometry detector and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

In order to quickly confirm a potentially hazardous psychoactive designer drug (a compound in which part of the molecular structure of a stimulant or narcotic has been modified), we created a psychoactive drugs data library by performing analysis using liquid chromatography with photodiode array spectrophotometry (LC/PDA) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The data in this library consist of the LC capacity factor (k') ratios in relation to the internal standard, the ultraviolet (UV) spectra and the MS spectra of 104 compounds. By performing a comparative study of the data in this report with the analytical data for commercial and illegal drug products, it is possible to quickly identify the psychoactive designer drugs in 205 purchased products by using the library. Further, it is possible to analogize the structure of drugs for which there is no matching data in the library using similar data. Furthermore, when structural isomers of controlled substances have detected from the presented library, similarity of their biological effects on human will be predicted, thus leading to regulate their public circulation. Examples of these types of isomers include, for instance, the narcotic 3,4,5-trimethoxyamphetamine (TMA) and its positional isomers 2,4,5-trimethoxyamphetamine (TMA-2) and 2,4,6-trimethoxyamphetamine (TMA-6), or the narcotic 1-(3-chlorophenyl)piperazine (3CPP) and its isomers 1-(o-chlorophenyl)piperazine (2CPP) and 1-(p-chlorophenyl)piperazine (4CPP). Differentiation of these compounds is necessary in regulating them, and we report here the results of a study of a method to confirm these compounds using the present library.