Stability-indicating UPLC, TLC-densitometric and UV-spectrophotometric methods for alcaftadine determination.

Three sensitive and precise stability-indicating methods were developed for the determination of alcaftadine in the presence of its degradation products. Efficient separation was achieved using UPLC-UV-MS method by gradient elution with a mobile phase of 0.1% aqueous formic acid (A) and 0.1% formic acid in acetonitrile (B) over concentration range of 0.10-1.00 µg mL-1. The accuracy was 100.89% ± 0.74 and 99.73% ± 0.78 for UV and MS detection, respectively. A TLC-densitometric method was adopted to separate of the intact drug from its degradation products. Methanol: chloroform: glacial acetic acid (5:4:0.1, v/v/v) was the developing system, detection wavelength was set to 282 nm. Rf values were 0.35, 0.65 and 0.88 for alcaftadine, its acidic and oxidative degradants, respectively. The linearity range was 2.00-27.00 µg/band with mean accuracy of 100.58% ± 0.86. The proposed TLC-densitometric method was utilized for the study of degradation rates of alcaftadine. Finally, a simple UV-spectrophotometric method where an induced dual wavelength was implemented, the method showed a linearity range of 2.00-27.00 µg mL-1 with mean recovery of 100.15% ± 0.70. The proposed methods were successful for quantitation of alcaftadine in ophthalmic solution and in plasma samples. The obtained results were in accordance with those obtained by previously reported methods.

A Validated Stability-Indicating Liquid Chromatographic Method for the Determination of Lorcaserin and Related Impurities in DRUG Substance Supported by Quality by Design.

Lorcaserin (LOR) is selective and potent antiobesity drug that targets the activation of the serotonin 5HT2C receptor. Here a novel, specific, sensitive stability indicating method was developed and validated for the quantitative determination of LOR and its process-related impurities using quality by design principles. By applying experimental design, the authors examine the multifactorial effect of parameters on the critical resolution pair and generated design space representing the robust design. LOR was subjected to stress condition and found stable at all condition, only found significant degradation at oxidative stress condition. The chromatographic separation of degradation product and its process-related impurities were achieved on a Phenomenox Luna phenyl-hexyl column (150 × 4.6 mm × 5 µm), with mobile phase consisting of 10 mM ammonium formate containing 0.1% ammonia solution; pH adjusted to 2.8 with trifluoroacetic acid as solvent A and methanol/acetonitrile (5/95) as solvent B delivered with gradient program at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min, column temperature was maintained at 25°C and analytes were monitored at 220 nm. The injection volume was 5 µL. The developed RP-LC method was validated and found linear, accurate, specific, selective, precise and robust. The structure of impurities was confirmed by direct mass analysis.

Fit-for-Purpose Quality Control System in Continuous Bioanalysis During Long-Term Pediatric Studies.

Pharmacokinetic studies are key to evidence-based pharmacotherapy. The reliability of pharmacokinetic parameters is closely related to the quality of bioanalytical data. Bioanalytical method validation is fully described by regulatory guidelines; however, it is conducted just once. To ensure reliability and comparability of clinical data, appropriate quality control systems must be enforced to monitor post-validation bioanalytical runs. While single bioanalytical run evaluation is described in international guidelines, somehow, the long-term reproducibility of the bioanalytical method is unattended; it becomes pivotal with the involvement of pediatric population. Therefore, a customized quality control system was developed that addresses regulatory requirements and encompasses the specific demands of pediatric research. It consisted of continuous multi-parameter assessment, including calibration curves, quality control samples, incurred sample reanalysis, and internal standard data. The recommendations provided by the guidelines were combined with the additional Westgard rules, statistical evaluation, and graphical observations. The applicability of the developed quality control system was investigated by using data from three pediatric clinical trials, where the system was able to identify 16% of all analytical runs as invalid. Using a pooled standard deviation provided a better estimate of long-term reproducibility by calculating the %CV, which ranged from 3.6 to 10.3% at all quality control levels. Irrespective of the difficulties encountered owing to vulnerable pediatric populations, the incurred sample reanalysis fulfilled the regulatory requirement of at least 67%. This quality control approach ensured reliable and comparable results over a whole 31-month duration in relation to pediatric studies.

Kinetic Profiling of the Hydrolytic Reaction of Benazepril: Metabolic Pathway Simulation.

A simple, specific, and rapid kinetic study of benazepril (BNZ) hydrolysis was developed and validated using HPLC. BNZ was degraded using 0.1 N sodium hydroxide at room temperature to produce benazeprilat, which is an active metabolite of BNZ and acts as an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor. Analysis was carried out using an Athena C18 column (4.6 × 250 mm, 5 µm particle size). The mobile phase consists of a mixture of phosphate buffer (pH 4.5) and acetonitrile (53 + 47, v/v) at a flow rate of 1 mL/min. UV detection was accomplished at 242 nm using moexipril as the internal standard. The method was validated according to International Conference on Harmonization guidelines, and the calibration curve was linear over the range 10-100 µg/mL, with acceptable accuracy and precision. Kinetic profiling of the hydrolysis was shown to follow pseudo-first-order kinetics. The method was applied to the assay of BNZ in combined dosage form with no interference from other ingredients. The obtained results were statistically compared with those of the official method, showing no significant difference.

Simultaneous Multiple MS Binding Assays Addressing D1 and D2 Dopamine Receptors.

MS Binding Assays are a label-free alternative to radioligand binding assays. They provide basically the same capabilities as the latter, but use a non-labeled reporter ligand instead of a radioligand. In contrast to radioligand binding assays, MS Binding Assays offer-owing to the selectivity of mass spectrometric detection-the opportunity to monitor the binding of different reporter ligands at different targets simultaneously. The present study shows a proof of concept for this strategy as exemplified for MS Binding Assays selectively addressing D1 and D2 dopamine receptors in a single binding experiment. A highly sensitive, rapid and robust LC-ESI-MS/MS quantification method capable of quantifying both SCH23390 and raclopride, selectively addressing D1 and D2 receptors, respectively, was established and validated for this purpose. Based thereon, simultaneous saturation and competition experiments with SCH23390 and raclopride in the presence of both D1 and D2 receptors were performed and analyzed by LC-MS/MS within a single chromatographic cycle. The present study thus demonstrates the feasibility of this strategy and the high versatility of MS Binding Assays that appears to surpass that common for conventional radioligand binding assays.

Rapid analysis of drug dissolution by paper spray ionization mass spectrometry.

With a great quantity of solid dosage tested by dissolution technology, developing a rapid and sensitive method to access the content of drug within dissolution media is highly desired by analysts and scientists. Traditionally, dissolution media is not compatible with mass spectrometry since the inorganic salts in the media might damage the mass spectrometer. Here, paper spray ionization mass spectrometry (PSI-MS), one of the ambient mass spectrometry technologies, is developed to characterize the content of drugs in dissolution media. The porous structure of paper can effectively retain salts from entering mass spectrometer. This makes the measurement of drug content within dissolution media by mass spectrometer possible. After the experimental parameters were optimized, calibration curves of model drugs - enalapril, quinapril and benazepril were established by using corresponding deuterated internal standards. PSI-MS was then deployed to characterize the content of enalapril from the dissolution testing of enalapril tablets. The results from PSI-MS are comparable to those from HPLC characterization. More importantly, the analysis time of 6 samples is shortened from 90min to 6min. Detection limit of enalapril maleate tablets by PSI-MS is 1/300 of LC. PSI-MS is rapid, sensitive and accurate in analyzing drug content from dissolution tests.

Development and validation of different methods manipulating zero order and first order spectra for determination of the partially overlapped mixture benazepril and amlodipine: A comparative study.

Three simple, selective, and accurate spectrophotometric methods have been developed and then validated for the analysis of Benazepril (BENZ) and Amlodipine (AML) in bulk powder and pharmaceutical dosage form. The first method is the absorption factor (AF) for zero order and amplitude factor (P-F) for first order spectrum, where both BENZ and AML can be measured from their resolved zero order spectra at 238nm or from their first order spectra at 253nm. The second method is the constant multiplication coupled with constant subtraction (CM-CS) for zero order and successive derivative subtraction-constant multiplication (SDS-CM) for first order spectrum, where both BENZ and AML can be measured from their resolved zero order spectra at 240nm and 238nm, respectively, or from their first order spectra at 214nm and 253nm for Benazepril and Amlodipine respectively. The third method is the novel constant multiplication coupled with derivative zero crossing (CM-DZC) which is a stability indicating assay method for determination of Benazepril and Amlodipine in presence of the main degradation product of Benazepril which is Benazeprilate (BENZT). The three methods were validated as per the ICH guidelines and the standard curves were found to be linear in the range of 5-60µg/mL for Benazepril and 5-30 for Amlodipine, with well accepted mean correlation coefficient for each analyte. The intra-day and inter-day precision and accuracy results were well within the acceptable limits.

Analysis of tolvaptan and its metabolites in sports drug testing by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry.

Tolvaptan is prohibited by the World Anti-doping Agency (WADA) under class S5 - Diuretics and masking agents. Less than 1% of the administrated dose is excreted by humans in urine. Knowledge concerning the metabolism in humans, and especially the excretion of metabolites in human urine, is limited. An analysis method based on the dilute-and-shoot approach using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) for detection was developed and validated. Ion transitions, which are part of this method, can easily be included in already existing screening methods used in routine doping analysis for the detection of diuretics. After administration of a single dose of tolvaptan to one male subject, low concentrations of the drug itself could be detected in urine samples over a time period of 24 h. In addition, hydroxyl metabolites of tolvaptan and one carboxyl metabolite with a cleaved benzazepine ring system were identified. These metabolites showed detection times of up to 150 h. An inclusion of these metabolites in the methods used in doping control analysis seems therefore to be of value. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A Validated UPLC-MS-MS Assay for the Rapid Determination of Lorcaserin in Plasma and Brain Tissue Samples.

Lorcaserin is a novel, potent and highly efficacious 5-HT2C receptor agonist, recently approved by US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of obesity. It has some abuse potential also and is listed as a Schedule IV drug in the Controlled Substances Act. Herein, a sensitive, selective and reliable UPLC-MS-MS assay was developed and validated for the quantitative analysis of lorcaserin in rat plasma and brain tissue using carbamazepine as an internal standard (IS). After the extraction of samples by protein precipitation, both lorcaserin and IS were separated on an Acquity BEH™ C18 (50 × 2.1 mm, 1.7 µm) column using a mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile-10 mM ammonium acetate-formic acid (85:15:0.1, v/v/v) at a flow rate of 0.25 mL/min. Detection and quantification were performed on a positive electrospray ionization interface in the multiple-reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. The MS-MS ion transitions were monitored at m/z 195.99 > 143.91 for lorcaserin and m/z 237.00 > 178.97 for IS, respectively. The calibration curves were linear over a concentration range of 1.08-500 ng/mL in plasma and 3.07-500 ng/mL in brain tissue homogenates, respectively. All the validation parameters results were within the acceptable range described in guidelines for bioanalytical method validation. The assay was successfully applied in a pharmacokinetic study of lorcaserin after oral administration in rats.

MS Binding Assays for D1 and D5 Dopamine Receptors.

MS Binding Assays are a label-free alternative to radioligand binding assays. They provide basically the same capabilities as the latter, but an unlabeled reporter ligand is used instead of a radioligand. The study presented herein describes the development of MS Binding Assays that address D1 and D5 dopamine receptors. A highly sensitive, rapid and robust LC-ESI-MS/MS quantification method for the selective D1 dopamine receptor antagonist SCH23390 ((5R)-8-chloro-3-methyl-5-phenyl-1,2,4,5-tetrahydro-3-benzazepin-7-ol) was established and validated, using its 8-bromo analogue SKF83566 as an internal standard. This quantification method proved to be suitable for the characterization of SCH23390 binding to human D1 and D5 receptors. Following the concept of MS Binding Assays, saturation experiments for D1 and D5 receptors were performed, as well as competition experiments for D1 receptors. The results obtained are in good agreement with results from radioligand binding assays and therefore indicate that the established MS Binding Assays addressing D1 and D5 receptors are well-suited substitutes for radioligand binding assays, the technique that has so far dominated affinity determinations toward these targets.

Application of quantitative NMR for purity determination of standard ACE inhibitors.

This study investigated the accuracy of the quantitative NMR method for purity determination of ACE inhibitors reference standards and the discovery of two pairs of new diastereoisomers. Six types of ACE inhibitors, imidapril hydrochloride, benazepril hydrochloride, lisinopril, enalapril maleate, quinapril hydrochloride, and captopril were quantificated and validated for the qNMR method by discussing factors that affect parameters of the qNMR experiment, internal standards, integration, pH-effect, and uncertainty. The results were compared with data obtained by the mass balance method. The study found that maleic acid influenced the quantification of captopril in deuteroxide because of a chemical reaction. The mixtures of the reaction products were isolated by HPLC and structurally elucidated by NMR as two pairs of new diastereoisomers, 1-[(2S,4R)-thio-2-methylpropionyl-5-d-ethanedicarboxylicacid]-L-proline and 1-[(2S,4S)-thio-2-methylpropionyl-5-d-ethanedicarboxylicacid]-L-proline. The results showed that the accuracy and precision of quantitative (1)H NMR spectroscopy satisfied the requirements for quantitative analysis of chemical reference standards and provided a simple, rapid, and reliable method for purity determination of ACE inhibitors systematically.

Simultaneous determination of hydrochlorothiazide and benazepril hydrochloride or amiloride hydrochloride in presence of hydrochlorothiazide impurities: chlorothiazide and salamide by HPTLC method.

Simple, selective and sensitive high-performance thin layer chromatographic (HPTLC) method has been developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of hydrochlorothiazide (HCZ) in the presence of its impurities (chlorothiazide (CT) and salamide (DSA)), in two quaternary mixtures with benazepril hydrochloride (BZ) or amiloride hydrochloride (AM). The separation was carried out on HPTLC silica gel 60 F254 using ethyl acetate-methanol-glacial acetic acid (85:2:0.3 v/v/v) followed by densitometric measurement of bands at 240 nm for the first mixture containing HCZ, CT, DSA, BZ and by using ethyl acetate-methanol-water-ammonia (90:10:5:3 v/v/v) followed by densitometric measurement at 278 nm for the second mixture containing HCZ, CT, DSA, AM. Calibration curves were constructed in the range of (0.2-1.8 µg/band) and (0.4-2.2 µg/band) with good accuracy for HCZ and BZ, respectively, for the first mixture and in the range of (0.6-1.8 µg/band) and (0.4-2.4 µg/band) with good accuracy for HCZ and AM, respectively, for the second mixture. The developed method was validated according to ICH guidelines and demonstrated good accuracy and precision. Moreover, the methods were successfully applied for the determination of HCZ and BZ and AM in pure form and pharmaceutical dosage forms. The results were statically compared with the reported methods with no significant difference, indicating the ability of the proposed method to be used for routine analysis of drug product.

Linear support vector regression and partial least squares chemometric models for determination of Hydrochlorothiazide and Benazepril hydrochloride in presence of related impurities: a comparative study.

Partial least squares regression (PLSR) and support vector regression (SVR) are two popular chemometric models that are being subjected to a comparative study in the presented work. The comparison shows their characteristics via applying them to analyze Hydrochlorothiazide (HCZ) and Benazepril hydrochloride (BZ) in presence of HCZ impurities; Chlorothiazide (CT) and Salamide (DSA) as a case study. The analysis results prove to be valid for analysis of the two active ingredients in raw materials and pharmaceutical dosage form through handling UV spectral data in range (220-350 nm). For proper analysis a 4 factor 4 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 8 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 HCZ and BZ in presence of HCZ impurities CT and DSA with high selectivity and accuracy of mean percentage recoveries of (101.01±0.80) and (100.01±0.87) for HCZ and BZ respectively using PLSR model and of (99.78±0.80) and (99.85±1.08) for HCZ and BZ respectively using SVR model. The analysis results of the dosage form were statistically compared to the reference HPLC method with no significant differences regarding accuracy and precision. SVR model gives more accurate results compared to PLSR model and show high generalization ability, however, PLSR still keeps the advantage of being fast to optimize and implement.

Comparative study between univariate spectrophotometry and multivariate calibration as analytical tools for quantitation of Benazepril alone and in combination with Amlodipine.

Four simple, accurate, reproducible, and selective methods have been developed and subsequently validated for the determination of Benazepril (BENZ) alone and in combination with Amlodipine (AML) in pharmaceutical dosage form. The first method is pH induced difference spectrophotometry, where BENZ can be measured in presence of AML as it showed maximum absorption at 237nm and 241nm in 0.1N HCl and 0.1N NaOH, respectively, while AML has no wavelength shift in both solvents. The second method is the new Extended Ratio Subtraction Method (EXRSM) coupled to Ratio Subtraction Method (RSM) for determination of both drugs in commercial dosage form. The third and fourth methods are multivariate calibration which include Principal Component Regression (PCR) and Partial Least Squares (PLSs). A detailed validation of the methods was performed following the ICH guidelines and the standard curves were found to be linear in the range of 2-30µg/mL for BENZ in difference and extended ratio subtraction spectrophotometric method, and 5-30 for AML in EXRSM method, with well accepted mean correlation coefficient for each analyte. The intra-day and inter-day precision and accuracy results were well within the acceptable limits.

Characterization of stress degradation products of benazepril by using sophisticated hyphenated techniques.

Benazepril, an anti-hypertensive drug, was subjected to forced degradation studies. The drug was unstable under hydrolytic conditions, yielding benazeprilat, which is a known major degradation product (DP) and an active metabolite. It also underwent photochemical degradation in acid and neutral pH conditions, resulting in multiple minor DPs. The products were separated on a reversed phase (C18) column in a gradient mode, and subjected to LC-MS and LC-NMR studies. Initially, comprehensive mass fragmentation pathway of the drug was established through support of high resolution mass spectrometric (HR-MS) and multi stage tandem mass spectrometric (MS(n)) data. The DPs were also subjected to LC-MS/TOF studies to obtain their accurate masses. Along with, on-line H/D exchange data were obtained to ascertain the number of exchangeable hydrogens in each molecule. LC-(1)H NMR and LC-2DNMR data were additionally acquired in a fraction loop mode. The whole information was successfully employed for the characterization of all the DPs. A complete degradation pathway of the drug was also established.

Fatality following a suicidal overdose with varenicline.

The smoking cessation agent varenicline acts as a partial agonist on α(4)ß(2) nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. Although debated, several reports have linked varenicline therapy to an increased risk of suicidal thoughts and/or suicide. In addition, several non-fatal overdose cases have been reported. In this report, we utilised a sample preparation procedure suitable for postmortem samples and gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry to analyse samples obtained from a suicidal case in which ingestion of an overdose of varenicline had occurred. Extremely high concentrations of varenicline (>250 ng/ml) were detected in the blood of the deceased, in addition to high concentrations in urine and vitreous humour. To the best of our knowledge, similar high concentrations have not been reported yet. Although, with respect to the mechanism of death in this case, confounding factors were concomitant ethanol consumption and, importantly, potentially fatal hypothermia, this is the first report of a fatality associated with the ingestion of an overdose of varenicline.

[Determination of varenicline in the preparation Champix® with the use of two-dimensional capillary electrophoresis in connection with UV detection]. / Stanovenie vareniklínu v lieku Champix® dvojdimenzionálnou kapilárnou elektroforézou v spojení s UV detekciou.

This paper deals with an analytical method based on two dimensional capillary electrophoresis (CITP-CZE coupling) with simple UV-detection for the determination of a highly effective drug - varenicline. The method was elaborated with the possibility of its future connection with an advanced detection ending - mass spectrometry. The electrolytes for the CITP (LE = 10 mM NH4Ac + 5 mM HAc + 0,05% m-HEC; TE = 10 mM HAc) and CZE (BGE = 20 mM HAc) separation of varenicline were selected considering such requirements. The UV detector was set at the constant wavelength of 237 nm. The presented CITP-CZE-UV combination enabled rapid and effective evaluation of varenicline in the dosage forms with LOD 5.92 ng/ml.

Qualitative and quantitative MALDI imaging of the positron emission tomography ligands raclopride (a D2 dopamine antagonist) and SCH 23390 (a D1 dopamine antagonist) in rat brain tissue sections using a solvent-free dry matrix application method.

The distributions of positron emission tomography (PET) ligands in rat brain tissue sections were analyzed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI MSI). The detection of the PET ligands was possible following the use of a solvent-free dry MALDI matrix application method employing finely ground dry α-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamic acid (CHCA). The D2 dopamine receptor antagonist 3,5-dichloro-N-{[(2S)-1-ethylpyrrolidin-2-yl]methyl}-2-hydroxy-6-methoxybenzamide (raclopride) and the D1 dopamine receptor antagonist 7-chloro-3-methyl-1-phenyl-1,2,4,5-tetrahydro-3-benzazepin-8-ol (SCH 23390) were both detected at decreasing abundance at increasing period postdosing. Confirmation of the compound identifications and distributions was achieved by a combination of mass-to-charge ratio accurate mass, isotope distribution, and MS/MS fragmentation imaging directly from tissue sections (performed using MALDI TOF/TOF, MALDI q-TOF, and 12T MALDI-FT-ICR mass spectrometers). Quantitative data was obtained by comparing signal abundances from tissues to those obtained from quantitation control spots of the target compound applied to adjacent vehicle control tissue sections (analyzed during the same experiment). Following a single intravenous dose of raclopride (7.5 mg/kg), an average tissue concentration of approximately 60 nM was detected compared to 15 nM when the drug was dosed at 2 mg/kg, indicating a linear response between dose and detected abundance. SCH 23390 was established to have an average tissue concentration of approximately 15 µM following a single intravenous dose at 5 mg/kg. Both target compounds were also detected in kidney tissue sections when employing the same MSI methodology. This study illustrates that a MSI may well be readily applied to PET ligand research development when using a solvent-free dry matrix coating.