Development and Validation of an HPLC Method for Simultaneous Determination of Rifampicin, Isoniazid, Pyrazinamide, and Ethambutol Hydrochloride in Pharmaceutical Formulations.

Tuberculosis treatment consists of a fixed dose combination of rifampicin (RIF), isoniazid (INH), pyrazinamide (PYZ), and ethambutol hydrochloride (EMB). The combined treatment using various drugs is necessary for patient curing, without recrudescence, and for prevention of drug-resistant mutants, which may occur during treatment. An HPLC-diode array detector (DAD) method for the simultaneous determination of RIF, INH, PYZ, and EMB in fixed dose combination tablets was developed and validated. Chromatographic experiments were performed on an Agilent 1200 HPLC system, and the separation was carried out on a Purospher STAR RP18e (250×4.6 mm id, 5 µm, Merck) analytical column. Gradient elution was carried out with a mobile phase of 20 mM monobasic sodium phosphate buffer with 0.2% triethylamine (pH 7.0) and acetonitrile at a flow rate of 1.5 mL/min. The total run time was 12 min, and the re-equilibration time was 5 min. EMB detection was performed at 210 nm, and RIF, INH, and PYZ were detected at 238 nm, using a DAD. The method proved to be specific, linear (r2>0.99), precise (RSD<2%), accurate, and robust and may be applied to the QC analysis of pharmaceutical formulations.

Implementation of basic quality control tests for malaria medicines in Amazon Basin countries: results for the 2005–2010 period

Background: Ensuring the quality of malaria medicines is crucial in working toward malaria control and eventual elimination. Unlike other validated tests that can assess all critical quality attributes, which is the standard for determining the quality of medicines, basic tests are significantly less expensive, faster, and require less skilledlabour; yet, these tests provide reproducible data and information on several critical quality attributes, such asidentity, purity, content, and disintegration. Visual and physical inspection also provides valuable information aboutthe manufacturing and the labelling of medicines, and in many cases this inspection is sufficient to detectcounterfeit medicines. The Promoting the Quality of Medicines (PQM) programme has provided technical assistanceto Amazon Malaria Initiative (AMI) countries to implement the use of basic tests as a key screening mechanism toassess the quality of malaria medicines available to patients in decentralized regions.Methods: Trained personnel from the National Malaria Control Programmes (NMCPs), often in collaboration with countrys Official Medicine Control Laboratory (OMCL), developed country- specific protocols that encompassed sampling methods, sample analysis, and data reporting. Sampling sites were selected based on malaria burden,accessibility, and geographical location. Convenience sampling was performed and countries were recommendedto store the sampled medicines under conditions that did not compromise their quality. Basic analytical tests, suchas disintegration and thin layer chromatography (TLC), were performed utilizing a portable mini-laboratory...(AU)