Chromatographic Techniques for Assessment of Bisoprolol Fumarate and Perindopril Arginine in Solid Formulations under Various Stress Conditions and Application to Six Sigma, Content Uniformity, and Comparative Dissolution Approaches.

BACKGROUND: Antihypertensives bisoprolol fumarate (BIS) and perindopril arginine (PER) were simultaneously determined in their pure, bulk, and combined tablet dosage form. OBJECTIVE: This study develops a novel, reproducible, and accurate Reversed phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) and Reversed phase ultra-performance liquid chromatography (RP-UPLC) with photodiode array detection techniques, which were then applied to in vitro dissolution studies. METHODS: The first RP-HPLC method relied on isocratic elution using a mobile phase of methanol-0.05 M phosphate buffer pH 2.6 (1 + 1, by volume), and separation was performed using a Thermo Hypersil C8 column (150 mm × 4.6 mm, 5 µm). Ion-pair UPLC was the second method. An acceptable resolution was achieved using an RP-C18 chromatographic column, Agilent Eclipse (100 × 2.1 mm, 1.7 µm), with a mobile phase containing 0.005 M sodium 1-heptane sulfonate-triethylamine (64 + 1 + 35, by volume), adjusted with phosphoric acid to a pH of 2.0. RP-HPLC used a 1.0 mL/min flow rate, while UPLC used 0.5 mL/min, and the two methods used detection at 210 nm. RESULTS: Calibration curves of BIS and PER were linear for RP-HPLC and RP-UPLC methods at 0.5-15 and 0.5-40 µg/mL, respectively. BIS and PER had RP-UPLC LODs of 0.22 and 0.10 µg/mL, respectively, and LOQs of 0.68 and 0.31 µg/mL, respectively. As a result, the approach has been effectively applied to in vitro dissolution testing for drugs in generic and reference products, showing that the two products are comparable. The Six Sigma approach was implemented to compare the recommended and United States Pharmacopeia (USP) procedures, which both exhibited process capability index (Cpk) >1.33. A content uniformity test demonstrated that the drugs in their dosage form met the acceptance limit (85-115%). The degradation products were reliably distinguished from pure drugs for a range of retention times. CONCLUSION: In their commercial drug product, the proposed method could be used in QC laboratories for concurrent testing, content uniformity, and in vitro dissolution investigations of BIS and PER. The methods were successfully validated per International Council for Harmonisation (ICH) guidelines. HIGHLIGHTS: This study is innovative since it is the first to establish and validate specific and reproducible UPLC and HPLC methods for the concurrent quantitation of the studied drugs in their binary mixture and application to lean Six Sigma, content uniformity, and comparative dissolution approaches.

Analysis of Fixed-Dose Combination of Three Antihypertensive Drugs by a Green and Quality by Design Approach.

This paper presents the result of a combined employment of Analytical Quality-by-Design and Green Analytical Chemistry principles for the development of a robust high-performance liquid chromatography method for simultaneous determination of fixed-dose combination of three drugs, perindopril tert-butylamine, amlodipine besylate and indapamide. Optimum conditions were achieved on ZORBAX Eclipse XDB-C18 column (150 mm × 4.6 mm, 5 µm particle size), the mobile phase comprising acetonitrile and phosphate buffer (30 mM, pH 2.7) in the ratio 34:66 (v/v), the flow rate of 1 mL min-1, injection volume of 10 µL and UV detection at 210 nm. By assigning the design space from the overlay plot, the regions within which the robustness of the method is achieved were defined and confirmed by Dong's algorithm calculations. The proposed method was validated and shown to be applicable for the determination of the three drugs in commercially available tablets. In addition, the impact of the method on the environment was assessed through four different analytical tools: National Environmental Methods Index, Analytical Eco-Scale, Green Analytical Procedure Index and Assessment of Green Profile. The proposed method was determined to be greener, with minimal impact on the environment with regard to waste production, energy consumption and use of hazardous chemicals.

In Vitro Dissolution Profile of Antihypertensive Mixture: Comparison Between Multivariate Methods and Statistical and Graphical Representation of Different Univariate Spectrophotometric Data.

BACKGROUND: Triplixam® is a new antihypertensive drug combination consisting of perindopril, amlodipine, and indapamide, which have a synergistic mechanism of action in combination with each other. OBJECTIVE: Comparative study of different spectrophotometric approaches used for the simultaneous determination of perindopril, indapamide, and amlodipine in bulk powder and in dosage form Triplixam. METHOD: The methods include univariate and multivariate spectrophotometric methods depending on either mathematical calculation or graphical representation of data. For the univariate methods: perindopril was resolved from other components using constant multiplication followed by spectrum subtraction resolution technique, and then two base point, AUC, constant value, and concentration value (CNV) methods were applied. For both amlodipine and indapamide: constant multiplication resolution technique was used, and then constant value and CNV methods were applied. CNV depends on graphical representation of data rather than statistical data. PLS and PCR chemometric assisted spectrophotometric techniques were also applied. The proposed methods are considered a green alternative to the reported methods as the greenness of the proposed methods was evaluated qualitatively and quantitatively by four green analytical evaluation tools. RESULTS: The methods were applied for the analysis of the mixture in the pharmaceutical dosage form Triplixam and in vitro release at intestinal pH (7.4) using a USP dissolution tester. CONCLUSIONS: The proposed green analytical methods are considered to be greener than the reported methods and simpler, so they could be used as an alternative for routine analysis of the mixture in quality control laboratories for the reason of their accurate results beside minimum manipulation steps that reduced the error and time required of the analysis with no harmful effect on analyst health as well as the environment. HIGHLIGHTS: The study was the first in vitro dissolution profiling of perindopril, amlodipine, and indapamide. The developed methods were excellent green methods without compromising the analytical criteria.

Optimization of localized surface plasmon resonance hot spots in surface-enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy aluminum substrate as an optical sensor coupled to chemometric tools for the purity assay of quinary mixtures.

Surface-enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy offers an alternative to conventional IR spectroscopy and utilizes the signal enhancement exerted by the plasmon resonance of nanostructured metal thin films. Citrate-capped silver nanoparticles were prepared in a single-step method, and their morphology was identified using transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, ultraviolet/visible spectrophotometry, and Zetasizer. The nanoparticles generated were deposited on the surface of cheap aluminum slides for different durations aiming for the selection of the best time producing a thin film, suitable to act as a lab-on-a-chip SEIRA substrate. These substrates were coupled to partial least squares regression tools for simultaneous resolving of the quinary mixture in commercial dosage forms of bisoprolol, perindopril, bisoprolol acid degradation product, bisoprolol alkali degradation product, and perindoprilat in concentration ranges of 15-75, 60-300, 15-55, 12-60, and 20-80 µg/mL with limits of detection values of 0.69, 3.43, 0.97, 1.25, and 1.09 µg/mL, respectively. Overall, we could demostrate that the localized surface plasmon resonance sensor coupled to chemometrics provides cheap, simple, selective, multiplex, rapid, and molecular specific procedures for impurity detection, which would be beneficial in many applications for quality control and quality accuracy of active pharmaceutical ingredients.

Stability-Indicating RP-HPLC and CE Methods for Simultaneous Determination of Bisoprolol and Perindopril in Pharmaceutical Formulation: A Comparative Study.

Two fast, accurate and selective stability-indicating methods were developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of bisoprolol, perindopril and three of their possible degradation products. The first proposed method was a gradient reversed phase-high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method, whereas the second was a capillary electrophoresis method. The structures of the obtained degradation products were elucidated using infrared and mass spectrometry. They were also confirmed to be either a drug impurity in the British Pharmacopoeia or a precursor to such impurity. The linearity for bisoprolol and perindopril was achieved in the range of 1-20 µg mL-1 and 5-30 µg mL-1 for HPLC and capillary electrophoresis methods, respectively. The proposed methods were validated according to the International Conference on Harmonisation guidelines. The HPLC method proved to be more sensitive and succeeded in the quantitative determination of the obtained degradation products. Also, it was able to quantify perindopril impurity up to three times lower than the desired limit set by the British Pharmacopoeia. They were successfully employed in the determination of bisoprolol and perindopril in their combined pharmaceutical formulation.

A new LC-MS/MS bioanalytical method for perindopril and perindoprilat in human plasma and milk.

A first of its kind, simple, rapid, and sensitive liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method was developed and validated for quantification of perindopril and perindoprilat in both human plasma and breast milk. The analytes and internal standards (phenazone and acetyl salicylic acid) were extracted from biological matrices by protein precipitation. A Phenomenex® C-18 column was used to provide an appropriate chromatographic separation of the analytes, followed by detection with tandem mass spectrometry. Gradient chromatographic and mass spectrometric detection conditions with mobile phases (A: 5% methanol + 0.1% formic acid in water v/v, and B: 95% methanol + 0.1% formic acid in water v/v) were developed to achieve a LOQ of 0.5 ng/mL in both human plasma and milk. The method was suitable of evaluating clinical samples. The mass transition was followed as m/z 369.10/172.00 for perindopril, m/z 339.00/168.10 for perindoprilat, m/z 188.90/55.95 for phenazone, and m/z 179.04/137.02 for acetyl salicylic acid. The developed method was optimized and validated with a linear range of 0.1-200 ng/mL (r 2 = better than 0.99 for both perindopril and perindoprilat). The precision and accuracy values were within 15% CV. The overall recovery of the analytes was 80-110%. The method has good specificity and repeatability. Stability studies were conducted in both human plasma and bovine milk for up to 3 months, at the storage conditions of 25, 4, and -80 °C.

A Validated HPLC Method for Simultaneous Determination of Perindopril Arginine, Amlodipine, and Indapamide: Application in Bulk and in Different Pharmaceutical Dosage Forms.

A simple, accurate, and precise LC method with a reversed stationary phase was developed and validated for the determination of perindopril (PER) arginine, amlodipine (AML), and indapamide (IND) alone and in binary mixtures (PER arginine is found in two dosage forms, i.e., with either AML or IND). Chromatographic separation was carried out on a BDS Hypersil® C18 column (100 × 3 mm, 5 µm). The mobile phase, consisting of 0.05 M potassium dihydrogen phosphate buffer (pH 2.6)-methanol (50 + 50, v/v), was pumped through the column whose temperature was maintained at 50°C at a flow rate of 0.6 mL/min using isocratic elution, and UV detection at 215 nm was performed. Acceptable values of linearity, accuracy, and precision of the method were found over the concentration ranges of 5-80 µg/mL PER, 2.5-80 µg/mL AML, and 0.5-20 µg/mL IND. The proposed chromatographic method was statistically compared to that of reference methods using one-way analysis of variance. The results showed that there was no significant difference between the methods. The developed method proved reliable for use in accurate QC of the drugs in their pharmaceutical preparations.

Novel ratio difference at coabsorptive point spectrophotometric method for determination of components with wide variation in their absorptivities.

Different methods have been introduced to enhance selectivity of UV-spectrophotometry thus enabling accurate determination of co-formulated components, however mixtures whose components exhibit wide variation in absorptivities has been an obstacle against application of UV-spectrophotometry. The developed ratio difference at coabsorptive point method (RDC) represents a simple effective solution for the mentioned problem, where the additive property of light absorbance enabled the consideration of the two components as multiples of the lower absorptivity component at certain wavelength (coabsorptive point), at which their total concentration multiples could be determined, whereas the other component was selectively determined by applying the ratio difference method in a single step. Mixture of perindopril arginine (PA) and amlodipine besylate (AM) figures that problem, where the low absorptivity of PA relative to AM hinders selective spectrophotometric determination of PA. The developed method successfully determined both components in the overlapped region of their spectra with accuracy 99.39±1.60 and 100.51±1.21, for PA and AM, respectively. The method was validated as per the USP guidelines and showed no significant difference upon statistical comparison with reported chromatographic method.

Novel Spectrofluorimetric Method for the Determination of Perindopril Erbumine Based on Fluorescence Quenching of Rhodamine B.

A novel, simple and specific spectrofluorimetric method was developed and validated for the determination of perindopril erbumine (PDE). The method is based on the fluorescence quenching of Rhodamine B upon adding perindopril erbumine. The quenched fluorescence was monitored at 578 nm after excitation at 500 nm. The optimization of the reaction conditions such as the solvent, reagent concentration, and reaction time were investigated. Under the optimum conditions, the fluorescence quenching was linear over a concentration range of 1.0-6.0 µg/mL. The proposed method was fully validated and successfully applied to the analysis of perindopril erbumine in pure form and tablets. Statistical comparison of the results obtained by the developed and reference methods revealed no significant differences between the methods compared in terms of accuracy and precision. The method was shown to be highly specific in the presence of indapamide, a diuretic that is commonly combined with perindopril erbumine. The mechanism of rhodamine B quenching was also discussed.

Novel Spectrofluorimetric Method for the Determination of Perindopril Erbumine Based on Charge Transfer Reaction with 7-Hydroxycoumarin.

A novel, simple, selective and sensitive spectrofluorimetric method was developed and validated for the determination of perindopril erbumine using 7-hydroxycoumarin. Perindopril erbumine was found to react with 7-hydroxycoumarin in acetonitrile resulting in a new fluorescent product with about 58 nm blue shifted emission. The fluorescence of the complex was measured at 440 nm after excitation at 350 nm in acetonitrile. Under the optimum conditions, the fluorescence intensity was linear over a concentration range of 2.0-16.0 µg/mL (R(2) = 1) with a detection limit of 0.054 µg/mL. The proposed method was fully validated and successfully applied to the analysis of perindopril erbumine in pure form and tablets. Statistical comparison of the results obtained by the proposed and reference method revealed no significant differences in the performance of the two methods regarding the accuracy and precision respectively. The method was shown to be highly specific in the presence of indapamide, a diuretic that is commonly combined with perindopril erbumine. A proposal for the reaction pathway with 7-hydroxycoumarin was postulated.

Conventional univariate versus multivariate spectrophotometric assisted techniques for simultaneous determination of perindopril arginin and amlodipine besylate in presence of their degradation products.

The resolving power of spectrophotometric assisted mathematical techniques were demonstrated for the simultaneous determination of perindopril arginin (PER) and amlodipine besylate (AML) in presence of their degradation products. The conventional univariate methods include the absorptivity factor method (AFM) and absorption correction method (ACM), which were able to determine the two drugs, simultaneously, but not in the presence of their degradation products. In both methods, amlodipine was determined directly at 360 nm in the concentration range of 8-28 µg mL(-1), on the other hand perindopril was determined by AFM at 222.2 nm and by ACM at 208 nm in the concentration range of 10-70 µg mL(-1). Moreover, the applied multivariate calibration methods were able for the determination of perindopril and amlodipine in presence of their degradation products using concentration residuals augmented classical least squares (CRACLS) and partial least squares (PLS). The proposed multivariate methods were applied to 19 synthetic samples in the concentration ranges of 60-100 µg mL(-1) perindopril and 20-40 µg mL(-1) amlodipine. Commercially available tablet formulations were successfully analysed using the developed methods without interference from other dosage form additives except PLS model, which failed to determine both drugs in their pharmaceutical dosage form.

Simultaneous quantification of related substances of perindopril tert-butylamine using a novel stability indicating liquid chromatographic method.

A novel stability indicating gradient reverse-phased high-performance liquid chromatographic method has been developed for the quantification of impurities of perindopril tert-butylamine (PER) in pharmaceutical dosage form. Separation of the active substance and its known (Impurities B, C, D, E, F) and unknown impurities was achieved on a BDS Hypersil C18 column (250 mm × 4.6 mm, 5 µm), thermostated at 70°C, using a mobile phase comprised of aqueous solution of sodium 1-heptanesulfonate adjusted to pH 2 with perchloric acid and acetonitrile. The flow rate was maintained at 1.5 mL min(-1), injection volume of 20 µL was utilized and detection of analytes was performed at 215 nm. The developed method was validated in accordance with current ICH Guidelines for all suggested parameters, including forced degradation studies and proved to be linear, accurate, precise and suitable for the impurity testing of PER, being subsequently applied during on-going stability studies of a newly developed generic formulation.

Stability-indicating RP-HPLC method for the quantitative analysis of perindopril erbumine in tablet dosage form.

A specific, stability-indicating reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) method was developed and validated for the estimation of perindopril erbumine (PDE) in tablet dosage form. The HPLC method showed adequate separation of PDE from its degradation products. The separation was achieved on a Phenomenex Luna C18 column (250 × 4.6 mm × 5 µm) using a mobile phase composition of 0.2% trifluoroacetic acid buffer and acetonitrile in the ratio of 60:40 (pH adjusted to 3 with ammonia) at a flow rate of 1 mL/min. The injection volume was 20 µL and the wavelength of detection was kept at 215 nm. Stress studies were performed with 1 mg/mL of each drug, starting with mild conditions and followed by stronger conditions to achieve sufficient degradation at approximately 5-20%. The linearity of the proposed method was investigated in the range of 2.5 to 50 µg/mL for PDE. The limits of detection and quantification were found to be 0.75 and 2.3 µg/mL, respectively.

A validated stability-indicating RP-LC method for the simultaneous determination of amlodipine and perindopril in tablet dosage form and their stress degradation behavior under ICH-recommended stress conditions.

A stability-indicating RP-LC assay method was developed for the simultaneous determination of the cardiovascular drugs amlodipine and perindopril in the presence of degradation products generated from forced decomposition studies. The developed method is applicable for the determination of related substances in bulk drugs and simultaneous assay in a tablet pharmaceutical dosage form. Separation of the drugs and their degradation products was obtained using an RP Waters Spherisorb ODS1 column (250 x 4.6 mm id, 5 pm particle size) with the mobile phase acetonitrile-water (30 + 70, v/v) containing 15 mM phosphoric acid. The pH of the mobile phase was adjusted to 5.0. A flow rate of 1.2 mL/min was used for the separations, with detection at 215 nm. The chromatographic separation was performed at a column temperature of 45 degrees C. Atenolol was chosen as the internal standard. Amlodipine and perindopril were exposed to thermal, photolytic, hydrolytic, and oxidative stress conditions, and the stressed samples were analyzed by the proposed method. Degradation studies showed that both compounds were degraded under these stress conditions. The method was found to be stability-indicating and can be used for the routine analysis of amlodipine and perindopril in the studied combined tablet dosage form.

Validated chromatographic methods for determination of perindopril and amlodipine in pharmaceutical formulation in the presence of their degradation products.

Two specific, sensitive, and precise stability-indicating chromatographic methods have been developed, optimized and validated for determination of perindopril arginin (PER) and amlodipine besylate (AML) in their mixtures and in the presence of their degradation products. The first method was based on thin-layer chromatography (TLC) combined with densitometric determination of the separated bands. Adequate separation was achieved using silica gel 60 F254 TLC plates and ethyl acetate-methanol-toluene-ammonia solution, 33% (6.5:2:1:0.5 by volume), as a developing system. The second method was based on high-performance liquid chromatography, by which the proposed components were separated on a reversed-phase C18 analytical column using a mobile phase consisting of phosphate buffer (pH 2.5, 0.01 M)-acetonitrile-tetrahydrofuran (60:40:0.1% by volume) with ultraviolet detection at 218 nm. Different parameters affecting the suggested methods were optimized for maximum separation of the cited components. System suitability parameters of the two developed methods were also tested. The suggested methods were validated in compliance with the ICH guidelines and were successfully applied for the quantification of PER and AML in their commercial tablets. Both methods were also statistically compared to each other and to the reference methods with no significant differences in performance.

Development and validation of a stability-indicating assay method for simultaneous determination of perindopril and indapamide in combined dosage form by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography.

An approach of forced degradation study was successfully applied for the development of a stability-indicating assay method for simultaneous determination of perindopril and indapamide in a formulation in the presence of its degradation products. The method showed adequate separation of perindopril and indapamide from their associated main impurities and degradation products. Separation was achieved on an XTerra RP18, 5 microm, 150 x 4.6 mm id column at 55 degrees C by using the mobile phase NaH2PO4 buffer (pH 2.0; 0.005 M)-acetonitrile (75 + 25, v/v) at a flow rate of 1 mL/min and UV detection at 215 nm. Comprehensive stress testing of perindopril and indapamide was carried out according to the International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) guideline Q1A (R2). The specificity of the method was determined by assessing interference from the placebo and by stress testing of the drug (forced degradation). The drug was subjected to acid hydrolysis, base hydrolysis, oxidation, dry heat, and photolysis to apply stress conditions. There were no other coeluting, interfering peaks from excipients, impurities, or degradation products due to variable stress conditions, and the method was specific for determination of perindopril and indapamide in the presence of degradation products. The method was validated in terms of linearity, precision, accuracy, specificity, robustness, and solution stability. The linearity of the proposed method was investigated in the range of 24-56 microg/mL (r2 = 0.9993) for perindopril and 7.5-17.5 microg/mL (r2 = 0.9992) for indapamide. Degradation products produced as a result of stress studies did not interfere with the detection of perindopril and indapamide, and the assay can thus be considered stability indicating.

Evaluation of impurities level of perindopril tert-butylamine in tablets.

Perindopril tert-butylamine is a new member of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors group used in the treatment of hypertension and heart failure. In this paper, the evaluation of reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic method (RP-HPLC) for the determination of impurities level of perindopril tert-butylamine in tablets was done. The chromatograms were recorded using a Hewlett Packard 1100 chromatographic system with DAD detector. Separations were performed on a YMC-Pack C8 column (250 mm x 4.6mm; 5 microm particle size) at 50 degrees C column temperature. Mobile phase was a mixture of acetonitrile-potassium phosphate buffer (0.05 M) (37:63, v/v) (pH 2.5). pH of the mobile phase was adjusted with ortophosphoric acid. Mixture of acetonitrile-water (40:60, v/v) was used as a solvent. Injection volume was 50 microl, flow rate 1.7 ml min(-1) and UV-detection was performed at 215 nm. The developed method subjected to method validation and parameters in terms of selectivity, linearity, precision, accuracy, limit of detection, limit of quantitation and robustness were defined. The validated method is suitable for the simultaneous determination of perindopril tert-butylamine as well as its impurities in pharmaceuticals.

Optimized and validated initial-rate method for the determination of perindopril erbumine in tablets.

A simple and sensitive kinetic spectrophotometric method for the determination of perindopril in pharmaceutical preparations is described. The method is based on the interaction of drug with 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene (CDNB) in dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) at 40+/-1 degrees C. The reaction is followed spectrophotometrically by measuring the rate of change of the absorbance at 420 nm. Under the optimized experimental conditions, the calibration curve showed a linear relationship over the concentration range of 20-140 microg/ml. The activation parameter such as E(a), deltaH*, deltaS* and deltaG* for this reaction were calculated and found to be 27.31 kJ/mol, 24.69 kJ/mol, -138.84 J/K/mol and 61.50 kJ/mol, respectively. The method has been successfully applied to the determination of perindopril in commercial dosage forms. Statistical comparison of the results with the Abdellatef's spectrophotometric method shows excellent agreement and indicates no significant difference between the methods compared in terms of accuracy and precision.

Comparison of spectrophotometric and an LC method for the determination perindopril and indapamide in pharmaceutical formulations.

A new sensitive, simple, rapid and precise reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) and two spectrophotometric methods have been developed for resolving binary mixture of perindopril and indapamide in the pharmaceutical dosage forms. The first method is based on HPLC on a reversed-phase column using a mobile phase of phosphate buffer pH 2.4 and acetonitrile (7:3 v/v) was used. Linearity range for perindopril and indapamide was 5.0-70.0 and 8.0-35.0 microg ml(-1). In the second method, the first derivative spectrophotometry with a zero-crossing technique of measurement is used for the simultaneous quantitative determination of perindopril and indapamide in binary mixtures without previous separation step. Linear calibration graphs of first derivative values at 225.7 and 255.4 nm for perindopril and indapamide, respectively. The third method is based on ratio derivative spectrophotometry, the amplitudes in the first derivative of the ratio spectra at 226.5 and at 255.3 nm were selected to determine perindopril and indapamide in the binary mixture. All the proposed methods showed good linearity, precision and reproducibility. The proposed methods were successfully applied to the pharmaceutical dosage forms containing the above-mentioned drug combination without any interference by the excipients.

Identification and determination of selected medicines reducing hypertension by densitometric and gas chromatographic methods.

Conditions have been elaborated for the identification and quantitative determination of captopril and enalapril in pharmaceutical preparations by the densitometric method in the concentration range 5-50 microg, and of enalapril by gas chromatography in the concentration range 0.5-3.5 mg/ml. The separation of the preparations was performed using methanol. In the densitometric method the determination of captopril was done at lambda = 212 nm, while for enalapril at lambda = 210 nm. In the gas chromatographic method a DB-17 capillary column was used as well as a flame ionization detector. Perindopril was used as the internal standard.