Validation of high performance liquid chromatographic and spectrophotometric methods for the determination of the antiparkinson agent pramipexole dihydrochloride monohydrate in pharmaceutical products

abstract The antiparkinson agent pramipexole dihydrochloride monohydrate was quantified in pharmaceutical products by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and derivative spectrophotometry. The first method was based on HPLC using tamsulosin HCl as an internal standard. In this method, chromatographic separation was achieved using a LiChrospher 60 RP column at 25°C, with a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min at 263 nm. The eluent comprised 0.01 mol/L ammonium acetate (pH 4.4) and acetonitrile (35:65 by volume). The linearity range was found to be 10.0-30.0 µg/mL with a mean recovery of 100.5 ± 1.10. The limit of detection (8 ng/mL) and limit of quantification (50 ng/mL) were calculated. In the second method, the first derivative spectrophotometric technique for the determination of pramipexole dihydrochloride monohydrate was performed by measuring the amplitude at 249 and 280 nm. In the first derivative technique, the absorbance and concentration plot was rectilinear over the 5.0-35.0 µg/mL range with a lower detection limit of 1.5 ng/mL and quantification limit of 4.5 ng/mL. The typical excipients included in the pharmaceutical product do not interfere with the selectivity of either method. The developed methods were validated for robustness, selectivity, specificity, linearity, precision, and accuracy as per the ICH and FDA guidelines (ICH Q2B, 1996; FDA,2000). In conclusion, the developed methods were successful in determining the quantity of the antiparkinson agent pramipexole dihydrochloride monohydrate in pharmaceutical products. The RSD values for the pharmaceutical product used in this study were found to be 0.97% for the HPLC method and 0.00% for the first derivative spectrophotometric method.

resumo O fármaco antiparkinsoniano, dicloridrato de pramipexol monoidratado, foi quantificado no produto farmacêutico por cromatografia líquida de alta eficiência (CLAE) e espectrofotometria derivada. No primeiro método baseado na CLAE, o cloridrato de tansulosina foi usado como padrão interno. Nesse método, a separação cromatográfica foi realizada usando uma coluna Lichrosper 60 RP a 25 °C e acetato de amônio 0,01 mol/L (pH:4.4): acetonitrila (35:65 em volume) como eluente com fluxo de 1,0 mL /min a 263 nm. A faixa de linearidade foi de 10.0-30.0 µg/mL com média da recuperação 100.5 ± 1.10. O limite de detecção (8 ng/mL) e o limite de quantificação (50 ng/mL) foram calculados. Por outro lado, a primeira técnica de espectrofotometria derivada para a determinação de dicloridrato de pramipexol monoidratado foi realizada através da medida da amplitude a 249 e 280 nm. Na técnia da primeira derivada, a absorvância e a plotagem da concentração foi retilínea na faixa de 5.0-35.0 µg/mL com limite inferior de detecção de 1.5 ng/mL e limite de quantificação de 4.5 ng/mL. Os excipientes típicos incluídos no produto farmacêutico não interferem com a seletividade dos métodos. Os métodos desenvolvidos foram validados quanto à robustez, seletividade, especificidade, linearidade, precisão e exatidão de acordo com as diretrizes do ICH e FDA (ICH Q2B,1996; FDA,2000). Concluindo, os métodos propostos foram aplicados com sucesso para a determinação quantitativa do agente antiparkinsoniano dicloridrato de pramipexol monoidrato em produtos farmacêuticos. Os valores de RSD para o produto farmacêutico utilizado neste estudo foi 0.97% para a CLAE e 0.00% para o método de espectrofotometria de primeira derivada.

Comparison of the antioxidant potential of antiparkinsonian drugs in different in vitro models

Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by progressive degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta. Furthermore, oxidative stress plays a role in PD, causing or contributing to the neurodegenerative process. Currently PD has only symptomatic treatment and still nothing can be done to stop the degenerative process of the disease. This study aimed to comparatively evaluate the antioxidant capacity of pramipexole, selegeline and amantadine in different in vitro studies and to offer possible explanations on the molecular antioxidant mechanisms of these drugs. In vitro, the antioxidant capacity of the drugs was assessed by the ability of antiparkinsonian drugs to decrease or scavenge ROS in the neutrophil respiratory burst, ability of antiparkinsonian drugs to donate hydrogen and stabilize the free radical 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH•), to scavenge 2,2'-azino-di-(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonic acid (ABTS+) and evaluation of the ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP). This study demonstrated that both pramipexole and selegiline, but not amantadine, have antioxidant effects in vitro by scavenging superoxide anion on the respiratory burst, donating electron in the ABTS+ assay and presenting ferric reduction antioxidant power. This chemical structure-related antioxidant capacity suggests a possible neuroprotective mechanism of these drugs beyond their already recognized mechanism of action.

A doença de Parkinson (DP) é caracterizada pela degeneração progressiva dos neurônios dopaminérgicos na substância negra pars compacta. Além disso, o estresse oxidativo, presente nesta doença, causa ou contribui para o processo neurodegenerativo. Atualmente, a DP tem apenas tratamento sintomático e ainda nada pode ser feito para interromper o processo degenerativo. Este estudo teve como objetivo avaliar, comparativamente, a capacidade antioxidante do pramipexol, selegilina e amantadina em diferentes testes in vitro e oferecer possíveis explicações sobre os mecanismos moleculares antioxidantes destes fármacos. Avaliou-se a atividade antioxidante dos fármacos através da capacidade em diminuir ou sequestrar espécies reativas de oxigênio no burst respiratório, da capacidade em doar hidrogênio e estabilizar o radical livre 2,2-difenil-1-picril-hidrazil (DPPH•), de remover o radical 2,2'-azino-di-(3-etilbenzotiazolina-6-sulfônico (ABTS+) e da verificação do poder redutor/antioxidante do ferro (FRAP). Este estudo demonstrou que tanto o pramipexol como a selegilina, mas não a amantadina, possuem efeitos antioxidantes in vitro por eliminar o ânion superóxido no burst respiratório, doar elétrons no método ABTS e apresentar poder redutor sobre o ferro (FRAP). Essa capacidade antioxidante pode estar relacionada com a estrutura química desses medicamentos, sugerindo possíveis mecanismos neuroprotetores destes fármacos além de seus mecanismos de ação já conhecidos.

LC determination of entacapone in tablets: in vitro dissolution studies.

The aim of the study was to develop and validate a dissolution procedure for entacapone-coated tablets. Several conditions such as medium composition, pH, surfactant concentration, and rotation speed were evaluated. The best dissolution conditions were achieved using apparatus 2, 900 mL of medium containing acetate buffer pH 5.3 at a rotation speed of 50 rpm, and a reversed-phase liquid chromatographic method for the quantification of the drug from the dissolution test, as well as to evaluate the dissolution profiles for tablets. The procedure was validated by specificity, linearity, accuracy, repeatability, intermediate precision, and robustness. The chromatographic method employed an Agilent Eclipse XDB RP-18 (150 × 4.6 mm i.d., particle size 5 µm) with a mobile phase consisting of water pH 3.0 and acetonitrile (65:35, v/v) at a flow rate of 2.0 mL/min. The dissolution procedure developed and validated was adequate for its purpose and could be applied for quality control for entacapone-coated tablets because there is no official monograph.

LC/MS/MS study for identification of entacapone degradation product obtained by photodegradation kinetics.

Entacapone is indicated for clinical use as an adjunct to levodopalcarbidopa to treat patients with idiopathic Parkinson's Disease who experience the signs and symptoms of end-of-dose wearing-off. The aim of this study was to determine the photodegradation kinetics and to elucidate the structure of the main degradation product. The stability of entacapone was studied in order to investigate the degradation kinetics of this drug using LC as a stability indicator. Entacapone was subjected to accelerated photodegradation. This study was carried out with methanolic solutions, prepared from coated tablets, in quartz cells under UV light at 254 nm. The degradation process of entacapone in solutions can be described by second-order kinetics under the experimental conditions used in this study. The LC/MS/MS determinations revealed that in the above conditions the photodegraded product formed the geometric isomer of entacapone (Z-entacapone). The obtained results show the importance of appropriate light protection during the drug development process, storage, and handling.

Simultaneous kinetic-spectrofluorometric determination of levodopa and carbidopa using partial least-squares regression.

A simple and sensitive methodology for the simultaneous determination of levodopa and carbidopa in pharmaceutical samples is described. The method combines the advantages of fluorescence with partial least-squares (PLS) analysis, and requires no previous separation steps. The developed method is based on the oxidation of levodopa and carbidopa by cerium(IV) in a sulfuric acid medium and monitoring the fluorescence of the formed Ce(III) at lambda(exc) = 255 nm and lambda(em) = 355 nm. PLS uses differences in the reaction rates as a discriminatory parameter, and regresses the data of fluorescence vs. time onto the concentrations of the standards. Eight validation samples and seven commercial tablets were studied, using a nine-sample aqueous calibration set. The analyte recoveries from pharmaceuticals ranged from 98 to 101% for levodopa and from 100 to 108% for carbidopa. The results obtained by the developed method were statistically comparable to those obtained with high-performance liquid chromatography.

Quantitative determination of L-DOPA in tablets by high performance thin layer chromatography.

A densitometric high performance thin-layer chromatographic (HPTLC) method was developed and validated for quantitative analysis of L-DOPA in tablets. Chromatographic separation was achieved on precoated silica gel F 254 HPTLC plates using a mixture of acetone-chloroform-n-butanol-acetic acid glacial-water (60:40:40:40:35 v/v/v/v/v) as mobile phase. Quantitative analysis was carried out at a wavelength of 497 nm. The method was linear between 100 and 500 ng/microL, with a correlation coefficient of 0.999. The intra-assay variation was between 0.26 and 0.65% and the interassay was between 0.52 and 2.04%. The detection limit was 1.12 ng/microL, and the quantification limit was 3.29 ng/microL. The accuracy ranged from 100.40 to 101.09%, with a CV not higher than 1.40%. The method was successfully applied to quantify L-DOPA in real pharmaceutical samples, including the comparison with HPLC measurements. The method was fast, specific, with a good precision, and accurate for the quantitative determination of L-DOPA in tablets.