Simultaneous Determination of Captopril and Statins in API, Pharmaceutical Formulations and in Human Serum by RP-HPLC

Green innovative fluorescence approach for the feasible and reliable assay of thiol-containing drugs; captopril as a model

In the present study, a novel spectrofluorimetric approach was designed for the analysis of captopril as a thiol-containing compound. The approach is based on the formation of a ternary fluorescent compound between the target thiol compound, ortho-phthaldehyde, and a suitable primary amine-containing compound. The produced 1-thio-alkyl-isoindole derivative exhibited very high emission activity in a faintly alkaline aqueous solution that could be monitored at 448 nm (excitation at 334 nm). 2-Amino-6-methyl-6-hydroxy-heptane was selected as the primary amine candidate that gave the high fluorescence intensity with the stability of the formed product. At the optimal experimental condition, the intensity of fluorescence of the formed product was linearly related to the concentration of captopril in 20-450 ng mL^-1 range. Commercial pharmaceutical tablets were analyzed, and the obtained results agreed with those of the published method regarding precision and accuracy. The mechanism of the reaction was discussed. In addition, the greenness of the approach was rated following eco-scale criteria.

Surfactant-Free Chitosan/Cellulose Acetate Phthalate Nanoparticles: An Attempt to Solve the Needs of Captopril Administration in Paediatrics

The Paediatric Committee of the European Medicines Agency encourages research into medicinal products for children, in particular, the development of an age-appropriate formulation of captopril is required in the cardiovascular therapeutic area. The aim of this study was the development of a liquid formulation using nanoparticles based only on chitosan and cellulose acetate phthalate containing captopril for the treatment of hypertension, heart failure and diabetic nephropathy in paediatric patients. Nanoparticles were prepared by a nanoprecipitation method/dropping technique without using surfactants, whose use can be associated with toxicity. A range of different cellulose to chitosan weight ratios were tested. A good encapsulation efficiency (61.0 ± 6.5%) was obtained when a high chitosan concentration was used (1:3 ratio); these nanoparticles (named NP-C) were spherical with a mean diameter of 427.1 ± 32.7 nm, 0.17 ± 0.09 PDI and +53.30 ± 0.95 mV zeta potential. NP-C dispersion remained stable for 28 days in terms of size and drug content and no captopril degradation was observed. NP-C dispersion released 70% of captopril after 2 h in pH 7.4 phosphate buffer and NP-C dispersion did not have a cytotoxicity effect on neonatal human fibroblasts except at the highest dose tested after 48 h. As a result, chitosan/cellulose nanoparticles could be considered a suitable platform for captopril delivery in paediatrics for preparing solid/liquid dosage forms.

Synthesis, characterization, and pharmacological evaluation of some metal complexes of quercetin as P-gp inhibitors

Background

Six different metal complexes of quercetin (Cu, Zn, Co, Vd, Mo, Ni) were synthesized, purified, and characterized by their physical and spectral (UV, IR) data. They were evaluated for their P-gp (permeability glycoprotein) inhibitory activity by in vitro everted sac method in rats. The apparent permeability of atorvastatin (P-gp substrate) from everted sac of the rat intestine was determined in control, standard (verapamil), and groups treated with quercetin-metal complexes. The drug contents were analyzed by validated RP-HPLC method using a mixture of acetonitrile and water (60:40 v/v) adjusted to pH 2.8 with phosphate buffer as mobile phase.

Results

In vitro studies revealed that the apparent permeability of atorvastatin (P-gp substrate) across the small intestine is much affected by the treatment with Cu/Co/Ni complexes of quercetin. The mean ± SD and apparent permeability of atorvastatin decreased after pre-treatment with these metal complexes.

Conclusions

The quercetin Cu/Co/Ni complexes could inhibit P-gp and increase the atorvastatin absorption. Hence, they could be considered P-gp inhibitors.

A review on liquid chromatographic methods for the bioanalysis of atorvastatin

Background

The unsatisfied clinical need has encouraged the development and validation of bioanalytical procedures for the quantification of drugs in biological samples because the monitoring of drug concentrations helps in personalizing the patient’s pharmacotherapy, assessing the adherence to therapy, and is also extensively useful for pharmacokinetics and drug-drug interactions studies.

Main Body

The present review aimed to provide insightful information about the various liquid chromatographic methods developed till 2019 for the analysis and quantification of atorvastatin, its metabolites, and co-administered drugs in the various biological matrices like the serum, plasma, and urine with special emphasis on sample preparation techniques applied before chromatographic analysis along with different chromatographic conditions and their validation data. A total of 88 published papers that have used liquid chromatography techniques to quantify atorvastatin in biological fluids are included in the study. Out of the total reported liquid chromatographic methods, 34% used UV spectrophotometer as a detector, and 55% used MS/MS as a detector. Whereas 38% of them used protein precipitation procedure, 33% applied liquid-liquid extraction approach, and 12% employed solid-phase extraction technique for sample preparation.

Conclusion

In the last decade, numerous bioanalytical procedures have been developed for the quantification of atorvastatin in different biological samples using liquid chromatographic techniques. Moreover, advancement in technology developed several new and advanced sample preparation approaches like dispersive liquid-liquid extraction, microextraction by packed sorbent, which have high recovery rates than conventional procedures. Thus, the summarized review may be consulted as an informative tool to support the optimization of new bioanalytical methods for the quantification of atorvastatin.