GC-MS/MS Quantification of EGFR Inhibitors, ß-Sitosterol, Betulinic Acid, (+) Eriodictyol, (+) Epipinoresinol, and Secoisolariciresinol, in Crude Extract and Ethyl Acetate Fraction of Thonningia sanguinea.

Medicinal plants are widely used in folk medicine to treat various diseases. Thonningia sanguinea Vahl is widespread in African traditional medicine, and exhibits antioxidant, antibacterial, antiviral, and anticancer activities. T. sanguinea is a source of phytomedicinal agents that have previously been isolated and structurally elucidated. Herein, gas chromatography combined with tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) was used to quantify epipinoresinol, ß-sitosterol, eriodictyol, betulinic acid, and secoisolariciresinol contents in the methanolic crude extract and its ethyl acetate fraction for the first time. The ethyl acetate fraction was rich in epipinoresinol, eriodictyol, and secoisolariciresinol at concentrations of 2.3, 3.9, and 2.4 mg/g of dry extract, respectively. The binding interactions of these compounds with the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) were computed using a molecular docking study. The results revealed that the highest binding affinities for the EGFR signaling pathway were attributed to eriodictyol and secoisolariciresinol, with good binding energies of -19.93 and -16.63 Kcal/mol, respectively. These compounds formed good interactions with the key amino acid Met 769 as the co-crystallized ligand. So, the ethyl acetate fraction of T. sanguinea is a promising adjuvant therapy in cancer treatments.

High-performance liquid chromatographic determination of Ethamsylate in urine and tablets.

A simple, selective, sensitive, accurate, and precise method was developed for determination of ethamsylate (ET) in human urine and in ET tablets using RP-HPLC. The method uses a C18 (5 pm particle size) column at ambient temperature with the mobile phase 14.7 mM potassium dihydrogen phosphate (pH 4.6)-8.15 mM tetraheptylammonium bromide in acetonitrile (50 + 50, v/v) at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. Quantitation was achieved with UV detection at 300 nm, based on peak area with a linear calibration curve in the concentration range of 0.1-100 microg/mL. The proposed method was applied for the determination of the urinary excretion pattern of ET as the cumulative amounts excreted have been calculated without pretreatment of urine samples. The proposed method was completely validated according to U.S. Food and Drug administration guidelines.

Development of UPLC method for simultaneous assay of some COVID-19 drugs utilizing novel instrumental standard addition and factorial design.

A green, rapid, and simple RP-UPLC method was developed and optimized by full factorial design for the simultaneous separation of oseltamivir phosphate, daclatasivir dihydrochloride, and remdesivir, with dexamethasone as a co-administered drug. The separation was established on a UPLC column BEH C18 1.7 µm (2.1 × 100.0 mm) connected with a UPLC pre-column BEH 1.7 µm (2.1 × 5.0 mm) at 25 °C with an injection volume of 10 µL. The detector (PDA) was set at 239 nm. The mobile phase consisted of methanol and ammonium acetate (8.1818 mM) in a ratio of 75.7: 24.3 (v/v). The flow rate was set at 0.048 mL min-1. The overall separation time was 9.5 min. The retention times of oseltamivir phosphate, dexamethasone, daclatasivir dihydrochloride, and remdesivir were 6.323 ± 0.145, 7.166 ± 0.036, 8.078 ± 0.124, and 8.572 ± 0.166 min (eight replicates), respectively. The proposed method demonstrated linearity in the ranges of 10.0-500.0 (ng mL-1) and 0.5-30.0 (µg mL-1) for oseltamivir phosphate, 50.0-5000.0 (ng mL-1) for dexamethasone, 25.0-1000.0 (ng mL-1) and 0.5-25.0 (µg mL-1) for daclatasvir dihydrochlorde, and 10.0-500.0 (ng mL-1) and 0.5-30.0 (µg mL-1) for remdesivir. The coefficients of determination (R2) were greater than 0.9999, with percentage recoveries greater than 99.5% for each drug. The limits of quantitation were 6.4, 1.8, 7.8, and 1.6 ng mL-1, and the limits of detection were 1.9, 0.5, 2.0, and 0.5 ng mL-1 for oseltamivir phosphate, dexamethasone, daclatasivir dihydrochloride, and remdesivir, respectively. The proposed method was highly precise, as indicated by the low percentage of relative standard deviation values of less than 1.2% for each drug. The average content and uniformity of dosage units in the studied drugs' dosage forms were determined. The average contents of oseltamivir phosphate, dexamethasone, daclatasivir dihydrochloride, and remdesivir were nearly 93%, 102%, 99%, and 95%, respectively, while the uniformity of dosage unit values were nearly 92%, 102%, 101%, and 97%. Two novel methods were established in this work. The first method was used to assess the stability of standard solutions. This novel method was based on the slope of regression equations. The second was to evaluate the excipient's interference using an innovative instrumental standard addition method. The novel instrumental standard addition method was performed using the UPLC instrument program. It was more accurate, sensitive, time-saving, economical, and eco-friendly than the classic standard addition method. The results showed that the proposed method can estimate the tested drugs' concentrations without interference from their dosage form excipients. According to the Eco-score (more than 75), the Green Analytical Procedure Index (GAPI), and the AGREE criteria (total score of 0.77), the suggested method was considered eco-friendly.

Chemometrics in pharmaceutical analysis: an introduction, review, and future perspectives.

Chemometrics is the application of statistical and mathematical methods to analytical data to permit maximum collection and extraction of useful information. The utility of chemometric techniques as tools enabling multidimensional calibration of selected spectroscopic, electrochemical, and chromatographic methods is demonstrated. Application of this approach mainly for interpretation of UV-Vis and near-IR (NIR) spectra, as well as for data obtained by other instrumental methods, makes identification and quantitative analysis of active substances in complex mixtures possible, especially in the analysis of pharmaceutical preparations present in the market. Such analytical work is carried out by the use of advanced chemical instruments and data processing, which has led to a need for advanced methods to design experiments, calibrate instruments, and analyze the resulting data. The purpose of this review is to describe various chemometric methods in combination with UV-Vis spectrophotometry, NIR spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, electroanalysis, chromatographic separation, and flow-injection analysis for the analysis of drugs in pharmaceutical preparations. Theoretical and practical aspects are described with pharmaceutical examples of chemometric applications. This review will concentrate on gaining an understanding of how chemometrics can be useful in the modern analytical laboratory. A selection of the most challenging problems faced in pharmaceutical analysis is presented, the potential for chemometrics is considered, and some consequent implications for utilization are discussed. The reader can refer to the citations wherever appropriate.

Reflectance near-infrared spectroscopic method with a chemometric technique using partial least squares multivariate calibration for simultaneous determination of chondroitin, glucosamine, and ascorbic acid.

A reflectance near-infrared (RNIR) spectroscopy method was developed for simultaneous determination of chondroitin (CH), glucosamine (GO), and ascorbic acid (AS) in capsule powder. A simple preparation of the sample was done by grinding, sieving, and compression of the powder sample for improving RNIR spectra. Partial least squares (PLS-1 and PLS-2) was successfully applied to quantify the three components in the studied mixture using information included in RNIR spectra in the 4240-9780 cm(-1) range. The calibration model was developed with the three drug concentrations ranging from 50 to 150% of the labeled amount. The calibration models using pure standards were evaluated by internal validation, cross-validation, and external validation using synthetic and pharmaceutical preparations. The proposed method was applied for analysis of two pharmaceutical products. Both pharmaceutical products had the same active principle and similar excipients, but with different nominal concentration values. The results of the proposed method were compared with the results of a pharmacopoeial method for the same pharmaceutical products. No significant differences between the results were found. The standard error of prediction was 0.004 for CH, 0.003 for GO, and 0.005 for AS. The correlation coefficient was 0.9998 for CH, 0.9999 for GO, and 0.9997 for AS. The highly accurate and precise RNIR method can be used for QC of pharmaceutical products.

Reflectance near-infrared spectroscopic method with Chemometric techniques for simultaneous determination of Chondroitin, glucosamine, and methyl sulfonyl methane.

Reflectance near-IR (RNIR) spectroscopy was used for the simultaneous determination of chondroitin (CH), glucosamine (GO), and methyl sulfonyl methane (MSM) in tablets. Simple sample preparation was done by grinding, sieving, and compression of the tablets for improving RNIR spectra. Principal component regression and partial least squares (PLS-1 and PLS-2) were successfully applied to quantify the three components in the studied mixture using information included in RNIR spectra in the range of 4350-9100 cm(-1). The calibration model was developed with drug concentration ranges of 14.5-44.2% (w/w) for CH, 18.4-55.3% (w/w) for GO, and 6-18.6% (w/w) for MSM with addition of tablet excipients to the calibration set in the same ratio as in the tested tablets. The calibration models were evaluated by internal validation, cross-validation, and external validation using synthetic and pharmaceutical preparations. The proposed method was applied for analysis of six batches of the pharmaceutical product. The results of the proposed method were compared with the results of the pharmacopoeial method for the same batch of the pharmaceutical product. No significant differences between the results were found. The RNIR method is accurate and precise, and can be used for QC of pharmaceutical products.

A green approach to the analysis of co-administered ampicillin/sulbactam and paracetamol in human urine.

The novelty of this work is the simultaneous analysis of sulbactam (SUL), ampicillin (AMP), and paracetamol (PARA) in human urine samples, using the environmentally benign RP-HPLC method. A C18 column was used in chromatographic separation using potassium dihydrogen phosphate (10 mmol L-1, pH 5)/ethanol (90 %, V/V) as the mobile phase; flow rate was 1.00 mL min-1. UV detection at 220 nm was used for quantification. The proposed method showed good linearity in the concentration ranges of 2.20-250.00 µg mL-1 for SUL, 2.50-250.00 µg mL-1 for PARA, and 14.50-250.00 µg mL-1 for AMP. Direct injection of urine samples with no prior extraction was performed. This method was found successful in moving towards greener studies of drugs' urinary excretion, by decreasing hazardous solvent consumption and waste. Moreover, the method was applied to investigate the urinary excretion of the drugs and possible interaction between ampicillin and paracetamol.

Optimization and validation of a stability-indicating RP-HPLC method for determination of azithromycin and its related compounds.

A validated stability-indicating HPLC method was developed for the analysis of azithromycin (AZ) and its related compounds in raw materials, capsule, and suspension using an Xterra RP C18 column at 50 degrees C with UV detection at 215 nm. Isocratic elution was employed using the mobile phase 14 mM disodium hydrogen phosphate (pH 10.5, adjusted by 1 M NaOH)-methanol-acetonitrile-tetrahydrofuran (40.0 + 30.0 + 30.0 + 0.1, v/v/v/v). AZ and 14 of its related compounds were separated and quantified. The described method was linear over the range of 2-1800 microg/mL AZ with (r = 0.9999). The stability of AZ was studied under accelerated acidic, alkaline, and oxidative conditions. The proposed method was used to investigate the kinetics of acidic and alkaline hydrolysis process of AZ at different temperatures, and the apparent pseudo first-order rate constant, half-life, and activation energy were calculated. The major peak detected from the degradation of AZ in alkaline and acidic conditions was decladinosylazithromycine, while azithromycin N-oxide was detected from the oxidative degradation. Long-term stability studies for capsule and oral suspension were carried out. The proposed stability-indicating method was completely validated according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration requirements.

Thonningia sanguinea Extract: Antioxidant and Cytotoxic Activities Supported by Chemical Composition and Molecular Docking Simulations.

The current study was designed to investigate the antioxidant and cytotoxic activities of Thonningia sanguinea whole-plant extract. The total phenolic content was determined using Folin-Ciocalteu reagent and found to be 980.1 mg/g, calculated as gallic acid equivalents. The antioxidant capacity was estimated for the crude extract and the phenolic portion of T. sanguinea, whereupon both revealed a dose-dependent scavenging rate of DPPH• with EC50 values of 36.33 and 11.14 µg/mL, respectively. Chemical profiling of the plant extract was achieved by LC-ESI-TOF-MS/MS analysis, where 17 compounds were assigned, including ten compounds detected in the negative mode and seven detected in the positive mode. The phenolic portion exhibited promising cytotoxic activity against MCF-7 and HepG2 cells, with IC50 values of 16.67 and 13.51 µg/mL, respectively. Phenolic extract treatment caused apoptosis in MCF-7 cells, with total apoptotic cell death 18.45-fold higher compared to untreated controls, arresting the cell cycle at G2/M by increasing the G2 population by 39.7%, compared to 19.35% for the control. The apoptotic investigation was further validated by the upregulation of proapoptotic genes of P53, Bax, and caspases-3,8 9, and the downregulation of Bcl-2 as the anti-apoptotic gene. Bcl-2 inhibition was also virtualized by good binding interactions through a molecular docking study. Taken together, phenolic extract exhibited promising cytotoxic activity in MCF-7 cells through apoptosis induction and antioxidant activation, so further fractionation studies are recommended for the phenolic extract for specifying the most active compound to be developed as a novel anti-cancer agent.

Validation and application of chemometrics-assisted spectrophotometry and liquid chromatography for simultaneous determination of two ternary mixtures containing drotaverine hydrochloride.

Three methods were developed for the determination of two ternary mixtures containing drotaverine hydrochloride (DR) with caffeine and paracetamol (mixture 1) and DR with metronidazole and diloxanide furoate (mixture 2). The first method depends on HPLC separation on an RP C18 column at ambient temperature with the mobile phase methanol-water, pH 3.1 (50 + 50, v/v) and UV detection at 213 nm for mixture 1, and the mobile phase acetonitrile-25 mM potassium dihydrogen phosphate, pH 4.6 (55 + 45, v/v) with UV detection at 235 nm for mixture 2. The other two chemometric methods applied were partial least squares (PLS-1) and principal component regression (PCR). These approaches were successfully applied to quantify the five drugs in two ternary mixtures using information included in the UV absorption spectra of appropriate solutions in the wavelength range of 210-300 nm with 1 nm intervals. Calibration of PCR and PLS-1 models was evaluated by internal validation (prediction of compounds in its own designed training set of calibration), by cross-validation (obtaining statistical parameters that show the efficiency for a calibration fit model), and by external validation (using laboratory-prepared mixtures and pharmaceutical preparations). The proposed methods were successfully applied for the determination of the two ternary combinations in laboratory-prepared mixtures and commercial tablets; the results of PLS-1 and PCR methods were compared with the HPLC method, and a good agreement was found.

Optimization and validation of an RP-HPLC method for direct determination of metformin hydrochloride in human urine and in a dosage form.

A simple, selective, sensitive, accurate, and precise method was developed for determination of metformin hydrochloride (MF) in human urine using RP-HPLC. The method depends upon using an octylsilyl (C8) 5 microm particle size column at ambient temperature with mobile phase consisting of 33 mM sodium dihydrogen phosphate containing 6.38 mM hexanesulfonic acid sodium salt and adjusted to apparent pH 3.0 with phosphoric acid-acetonitrile (93 + 7, v/v) at a flow rate of 1.5 mL/min. Quantitation was achieved with UV detection at 231 nm based on peak area with a linear calibration curve over the concentration range of 0.01-50 microg/mL. The proposed method was applied to the determination of the urinary excretion pattern of MF (the cumulative amounts excreted were calculated without pretreatment of the urine sample) and for determination of the dissolution pattern of MF tablets. The proposed method was completely validated according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration guidelines.

HPLC method for the simultaneous determination of atenolol and chlorthalidone in human breast milk.

A high-performance liquid chromatographic method was optimized and validated for the determination of atenolol and chlorthalidone (CT) in human breast milk. The milk samples were extracted and purified using ACN and phosphoric acid for precipitation of proteins followed by removal of ACN and milk fats by extraction with methylene chloride. The samples were applied, after an extraction procedure, to a cyanide column using a mobile phase consisting of ACN/water (35:65 v/v) and buffered at pH 4.0 with flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. Quantitation was achieved with UV detection at 225 nm using guaifenesin as the internal standard. The effectiveness of protein precipitation and clean up procedure were investigated. The method was validated over the range of 0.3-20 microg/mL for atenolol and 0.25-5 microg/mL for CT.

New validated liquid chromatographic and chemometrics-assisted UV spectroscopic methods for the determination of two multicomponent cough mixtures in syrup.

Multivariate spectrophotometric calibration and liquid chromatographic (LC) methods were applied to the determination of 2 multicomponent mixtures containing diprophylline, guaiphenesin, methylparaben, and propylparaben (Mixture 1), or clobutinol, orciprenaline, saccharin sodium, and sodium benzoate (Mixture 2). For the multivariate spectrophotometric calibration methods, principal component regression (PCR) and partial least-squares regression (PLS-1), a calibration set of the mixtures consisting of the components of each mixture was prepared in 0.1 M HCl. Analytical figures of merit such as sensitivity, selectivity, limit of quantitation, and limit of detection were determined for both PLS-1 and PCR. The LC separation was achieved on a reversed-phase C18 analytical column by using isocratic elution with 20 mM potassium dihydrogen phosphate, pH 3.3-acetonitrile (55 + 45, v/v) as the mobile phase and UV detection at 260 and 220 nm for Mixture 1 and Mixture 2, respectively. The proposed methods were validated and successfully applied to the analysis of pharmaceutical formulations and laboratory-prepared mixtures containing the 2 multicomponent combinations.

High-performance liquid chromatographic determination of flavoxate hydrochloride and its hydrolysis product.

Liquid chromatographic method was presented for the determination of flavoxate hydrochloride (FX) and its hydrolysis product. The method was based on high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) separation of FX from its hydrolysis product on CN column using a mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile-12 mM ammonium acetate (45:55, vol/vol, pH 4.0) with UV detection at 220 nm and flow rate of 1.5 mL min(-1). The proposed HPLC method for the determination of FX was utilized to investigate the kinetics of acidic hydrolytic process at different temperatures and to calculate its activation energy. In addition, the proposed HPLC method was used for pH-rate profile study of hydrolysis of FX in Britton-Robinson buffer solutions. The 3-methylflavone-8-carboxylic acid ethyl ester, as impurity of flavoxate hydrochloride, can be separated by the proposed HPLC method.

HPLC and chemometrics-assisted UV-spectroscopy methods for the simultaneous determination of ambroxol and doxycycline in capsule.

High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and multivariate spectrophotometric methods are described for the simultaneous determination of ambroxol hydrochloride (AM) and doxycycline (DX) in combined pharmaceutical capsules. The chromatographic separation was achieved on reversed-phase C(18) analytical column with a mobile phase consisting of a mixture of 20mM potassium dihydrogen phosphate, pH 6-acetonitrile in ratio of (1:1, v/v) and UV detection at 245 nm. Also, the resolution has been accomplished by using numerical spectrophotometric methods as classical least squares (CLS), principal component regression (PCR) and partial least squares (PLS-1) applied to the UV spectra of the mixture and graphical spectrophotometric method as first derivative of the ratio spectra ((1)DD) method. Analytical figures of merit (FOM), such as sensitivity, selectivity, analytical sensitivity, limit of quantitation and limit of detection were determined for CLS, PLS-1 and PCR methods. The proposed methods were validated and successfully applied for the analysis of pharmaceutical formulation and laboratory-prepared mixtures containing the two component combination.

Development and validation of chemometrics-assisted spectrophotometric and liquid chromatographic methods for the simultaneous determination of two multicomponent mixtures containing bronchodilator drugs.

Three methods are developed for the determination of two multicomponent mixtures containing guaiphenesine (GU) with salbutamol sulfate (SL), methylparaben (MP) and propylparaben (PP) [mixture 1]; and acephylline piperazine (AC) with bromhexine hydrochloride (BX), methylparaben (MP) and propylparaben (PP) [mixture 2]. The resolution of the two multicomponent mixtures has been accomplished by using numerical spectrophotometric methods such as partial least squares (PLS-1) and principal component regression (PCR) applied to UV absorption spectra of the two mixtures. In addition HPLC method was developed using a RP 18 column at ambient temperature with mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile-0.05 M potassium dihydrogen phosphate, pH 4.3 (60:40, v/v), with UV detection at 243 nm for mixture 1, and mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile-0.05 M potassium dihydrogen phosphate, pH 3 (50:50, v/v), with UV detection at 245 nm for mixture 2. The methods were validated in terms of accuracy, specificity, precision and linearity in the range of 20-60 microg ml(-1) for GU, 1-3 microg ml(-1) for SL, 20-80 microg ml(-1) for AC, 0.2-1.8 microgml(-1) for PP and 1-5 microg ml(-1) for BX and MP. The proposed methods were successfully applied for the determination of the two multicomponent combinations in laboratory prepared mixtures and commercial syrups.

High performance liquid chromatographic determination of 3-methylflavone-8-carboxylic acid, the main active metabolite of flavoxate hydrochloride in human urine.

High performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method was presented for the determination of 3-methylflavone-8-carboxylic acid as the main active metabolite of flavoxate hydrochloride (FX) in human urine. The proposed method was based on using CN column with mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile-12 mM ammonium acetate (40:60, v/v) and adjusted to apparent pH 4.0 with flow rate of 1.5 ml min(-1). Quantitation was achieved with UV detection at 220 nm. The proposed method was utilized to the determination of dissolution rate for tablets containing flavoxate hydrochloride. The urinary excretion pattern has been calculated using the proposed method.

High performance liquid chromatographic determination of etofibrate and its hydrolysis products.

High performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method is presented for the determination of etofibrate (EF) and its hydrolysis products. The method was based on HPLC separation of EF from its hydrolysis products using cyanopropyl column at ambient temperature with mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile-10 mM potassium dihydrogen phosphate, pH was adjusted to 4.1 using phosphoric acid (50:50, v/v). Quantitation was achieved with UV detection at 221 nm based on peak area. The flow rate was 1.5 ml min(-1). The proposed method was used to investigate the kinetics of acidic hydrolysis process of EF at different temperatures and the apparent pseudo first-order rate constant, half-life and activation energy were calculated. The kinetics of alkaline hydrolysis process of EF using 0.01 M sodium hydroxide at different temperatures cannot be studied as the drug is rapidly hydrolyzed in alkaline medium. The pH-rate profile of hydrolysis of EF in Britton-Robinson buffer solutions within the pH range 2-10 were studied.

Stability-indicating method for determination of oxyphenonium bromide and its degradation product by high-performance liquid chromatography.

A high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method was developed for determination of oxyphenonium bromide (OX) and its degradation product. The method was based on the HPLC separation of OX from its degradation product, using a cyanopropyl column at ambient temperature with mobile phase of acetonitrile-25 mM potassium dihydrogen phosphate, pH 3.4 (50 + 50, v/v). UV detection at 222 nm was used for quantitation based on peak area. The method was applied to the determination of OX and its degradation product in tablets. The proposed method was also used to investigate the kinetics of the acidic and alkaline degradation of OX at different temperatures, and the apparent pseudo first-order rate constant, half-life, and activation energy were calculated. The pH-rate profile of the degradation of OX in Britton-Robinson buffer solutions within the pH range 2-12 was studied.

UV partial least-squares calibration and liquid chromatographic methods for direct quantitation of levofloxacin in urine.

Levofloxacin was determined in human urine samples by application of a spectrophotometric multivariate calibration partial least-squares (PLS-1) method. A calibration set consisting of standards was prepared by using a multilevel multifactor experimental design. In order to ensure accurate results, the calibration matrix included a urine sample free of levofloxacin (i.e., urine blank). The components of the calibration matrix were levofloxacin and urine. The concentration of levofloxacin ranged from 0.5 to 16.5 microg/mL. Different urine concentrations were used as the second component of the calibration matrix in order to include the information inherent in the changes in the UV spectrum for urine upon dilution. In addition, a high-performance liquid chromatographic method was proposed. In this method, a Shim-pack amino column was used at ambient temperature with a mobile phase of 25 mM potassium dihydrogen phosphate (pH adjusted to 3.1 with phosphoric acid)-acetonitrile (70 + 30, v/v), and the flow rate was 1 mL/min. UV detection at 293 nm was used for quantitation. The proposed methods were applied to the determination of the dissolution rate for tablets containing levofloxacin. The urinary excretion pattern for the cumulative amount of levoflacin excreted was also calculated.