Green HPLC-DAD and HPTLC Methods for Quantitative Determination of Binary Mixture of Pregabalin and Amitriptyline Used for Neuropathic Pain Management.

First analytical methods were herein developed for determination of pregabalin (PGB) and amitriptyline (AMT) as an active binary mixture used for management of neuropathic pain whether in pure forms or in human biological fluids (plasma/urine). First method is green high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detector (HPLC-DAD) after derivatization of PGB with ninhydrin (NIN) on a reversed-phase C18 column using a mobile phase consisting of ethanol:water (97:3%, v/v) pumped isocratically at 0.8 mL/min; AMT were scanned at 215 nm, whereas PGB-NIN was scanned at 580 nm. Second method is High-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC), where PGB and AMT were separated on silica gel HPTLC F254 plates, using ethanol:ethyl acetate:acetone:ammonia solution (8:2:1:0.05, by volume) as a developing system. AMT peaks were scanned at 220 nm, whereas PGB peaks were visualized by spraying 3% (w/v) ethanolic NIN solution and scanning at 550 nm. Linear calibration curves were obtained for human plasma and urine spiked with PGB and AMT over the ranges of 5-100 µg/mL and 0.2-2.5 µg/band for PGB, and 1-100 µg/mL and 0.1-2.0 µg/band for AMT for HPLC-DAD and HPTLC methods, respectively. The suggested methods were validated according to Food and Drug Administration guidelines for bioanalytical methods validation and they can be applied for routine therapeutic drug monitoring for the concerned drugs.

Development and validation of a stability indicating RP-HPLC-DAD method for the determination of bromazepam.

A reliable, selective and sensitive stability-indicating RP-HPLC assay was established for the quantitation of bromazepam (BMZ) and one of the degradant and stated potential impurities; 2-(2-amino-5-bromobenzoyl) pyridine (ABP). The assay was accomplished on a C18 column (250 mm × 4.6 mm i.d., 5 µm particle size), and utilizing methanol-water (70: 30, v/v) as the mobile phase, at a flow rate of 1.0 ml min-1. HPLC detection of elute was obtained by a photodiode array detector (DAD) which was set at 230 nm. ICH guidelines were adhered for validation of proposed method regarding specificity, sensitivity, precision, linearity, accuracy, system suitability and robustness. Calibration curves of BMZ and ABP were created in the range of 1-16 µg mL-1 with mean recovery percentage of 100.02 ± 1.245 and 99.74 ± 1.124, and detection limit of 0.20 µg mL-1 and 0.24 µg mL-1 respectively. BMZ stability was inspected under various ICH forced degradation conditions and it was found to be easily degraded in acidic and alkaline conditions. The results revealed the suitability of the described methodology for the quantitation of the impurity (ABP) in a BMZ pure sample. The determination of BMZ in pharmaceutical dosage forms was conducted with the described method and showed mean percentage recovery of 99.39 ± 1.401 and 98.72 ± 1.795 (n = 6), respectively. When comparing the described procedure to a reference HPLC method statistically, no significant differences between the two methods in regard to both accuracy and precision were found.

Ecologically evaluated and FDA-validated HPTLC method for assay of pregabalin and tramadol in human biological fluids.

The introduced research presents a novel in vivo quantitative method for assay of mixtures of pregabalin and tramadol as a common combinations approved for treatment of neuropathic pain. Green analytical chemistry is a recently emerging science concerned with control of the use of chemicals harmful to the environment in various analytical methods. Consequently, a green high-performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) method was achieved for determination of the mixture in human plasma and urine satisfying both analytical and environmental standards. The separation was achieved on HPTLC sheets using a separating mixture of ethanol-ethyl acetate-acetone-ammonia solution (8:2:1:0.05, by volume) as a mobile phase. The sheets were dried in air then scanned at two wavelengths. For tramadol, 220 nm was chosen; however, pregabalin is an unconjugated drug, so its determination was a challenge. Hence for pregabalin, the plates were sprayed with ethanolic solution of ninhydrin (3%, w/v), to obtain a conjugated complex, which could be assessed at 550 nm. Furthermore, the developed method fulfilled the US Food and Drug Administration validation guidelines, and proved to be useful in therapeutic drug monitoring of this combination. The Eco-scale assessment protocol was implemented to determine the greenness profile of the applied method.

US FDA-validated green GC-MS method for analysis of gabapentin, tramadol and/or amitriptyline mixtures in biological fluids.

Background: Mixtures of gabapentin, tramadol and/or amitriptyline are usually recommended for treatment of neuropathic pain. Materials & methods/results: A novel GC-MS/MS method was developed to assess the studied mixture whether in pure forms or human biological fluids (plasma/urine). The chromatographic detection was performed using MS detector applying the selected ion-monitoring mode. An (Agilent, CA, USA) GC-MS with triple axis single quadrupole detector unit was used for the analysis equipped with HP-5MS (5% phenyl methyl siloxane) column. Helium was the carrier gas and positive electron impact ionization mode was applied. Conclusion: The developed method was able to assess the mixture components simultaneously within six minutes. Validation of the method was assured according to US FDA guidelines and Eco-Scale assessment.

Stability-Indicating HPLC and HPTLC Methods for Determination of Agomelatine and its Degradation Products.

Two accurate, sensitive and highly selective stability-indicating methods are developed and validated for simultaneous determination of Agomelatine (AGM) and its forced degradation products (Deg I and II). The first method is High-Performance Liquid Chromatography for separation and quantitation of AGM, Deg I and II on a C18 column (250 mm × 4.6 mm, 5 µm p.s) in isocratic mode by using a binary mixture of Potassium dihydrogen phosphate (0.05 M, pH adjusted to 2.9 with orthophosphoric acid): acetonitrile (60:40, v/v) at a flow rate of 2 mL/min. The components were detected at 230 nm over a concentration range of 0.5-10 µg/mL for AGM and 0.5-5 µg/mL for both Deg I and II. The second method is High-Performance Thin-Layer Chromatography, where AGM, Deg I and II were separated on silica gel HPTLC F254 plates using chloroform:methanol:ammonia solution (9:1:0.1, by volume) as a developing system. The separated bands were scanned at 230 nm over the concentration range of 0.2-1.2 µg/band for AGM in pure form and human plasma and 0.1-1 µg/band for both Deg I and II. The proposed methods were successfully applied for analysis of AGM in pharmaceutical formulations. The results obtained by the proposed methods were statistically compared to the reported HPLC method revealing high accuracy and good precision.

Least-Squares Regression and Spectral Residual Augmented Classical Least-Squares Chemometric Models for Stability-Indicating Analysis of Agomelatine and Its Degradation Products: A Comparative Study.

Two accurate, sensitive, and selective stability-indicating methods are developed and validated for simultaneous quantitative determination of agomelatine (AGM) and its forced degradation products (Deg I and Deg II), whether in pure forms or in pharmaceutical formulations. Partial least-squares regression (PLSR) and spectral residual augmented classical least-squares (SRACLS) are two chemometric models that are being subjected to a comparative study through handling UV spectral data in range (215-350 nm). For proper analysis, a three-factor, four-level experimental design was established, resulting in a training set consisting of 16 mixtures containing different ratios of interfering species. An independent test set consisting of eight mixtures was used to validate the prediction ability of the suggested models. The results presented indicate the ability of mentioned multivariate calibration models to analyze AGM, Deg I, and Deg II with high selectivity and accuracy. The analysis results of the pharmaceutical formulations were statistically compared to the reference HPLC method, with no significant differences observed regarding accuracy and precision. The SRACLS model gives comparable results to the PLSR model; however, it keeps the qualitative spectral information of the classical least-squares algorithm for analyzed components.

HPTLC Method for Quantitative Determination of Zopiclone and Its Impurity.

This study was designed to establish, optimize and validate a sensitive, selective and accurate high-performance thin layer chromatographic (HPTLC) method for determination of zopiclone (ZPC) and its main impurity, 2-amino-5-chloropyridine, one of its degradation products, in raw material and pharmaceutical formulation. The proposed method was applied for analysis of ZPC and its impurity over the concentration range of 0.3-1.4 and 0.05-0.8 µg/band with accuracy of mean percentage recovery 99.92% ± 1.521 and 99.28% ± 2.296, respectively. The method is based on the separation of two components followed by densitometric measurement of the separated peaks at 305 nm. The separation was carried out on silica gel HPTLC F254 plates, using chloroform-methanol-glacial acetic acid (9:1:0.1, by volume) as a developing system. The suggested method was validated according to International Conference on Harmonization guidelines and can be applied for routine analysis in quality control laboratories. The results obtained by the proposed method were statistically compared with the reported method revealing high accuracy and good precision.

Quantitative determination of zopiclone and its impurity by four different spectrophotometric methods.

Four simple, sensitive and selective spectrophotometric methods are presented for determination of Zopiclone (ZPC) and its impurity, one of its degradation products, namely; 2-amino-5-chloropyridine (ACP). Method A is a dual wavelength spectrophotometry; where two wavelengths (252 and 301 nm for ZPC, and 238 and 261 nm for ACP) were selected for each component in such a way that difference in absorbance is zero for the second one. Method B is isoabsorptive ratio method by combining the isoabsorptive point (259.8 nm) in the ratio spectrum using ACP as a divisor and the ratio difference for a single step determination of both components. Method C is third derivative (D(3)) spectrophotometric method which allows determination of both ZPC at 283.6 nm and ACP at 251.6 nm without interference of each other. Method D is based on measuring the peak amplitude of the first derivative of the ratio spectra (DD(1)) at 263.2 nm for ZPC and 252 nm for ACP. The suggested methods were validated according to ICH guidelines and can be applied for routine analysis in quality control laboratories. Statistical analysis of the results obtained from the proposed methods and those obtained from the reported method has been carried out revealing high accuracy and good precision.