Stability-indicating assay of sodium cromoglicate in ophthalmic solution using mixed-mode hydrophilic interaction chromatography

Development of Advanced Chemometric-Assisted Spectrophotometric Methods for the Determination of Cromolyn Sodium and Its Alkaline Degradation Products

Advanced and sensitive spectrophotometric and chemometric analytical methods were successfully established for the stability-indicating assay of cromolyn sodium (CS) and its alkaline degradation products (Deg1 and Deg2). Spectrophotometric mean centering ratio spectra method (MCR) and chemometric methods, including principal component regression (PCR) and partial least square (PLS-2) methods, were applied. Peak amplitudes after MCR at 367.8 nm, 373.8 nm and 310.6 nm were used within linear concentration ranges of 2-40 µg mL^-1, 5-40 µg mL^-1 and 10-100 µg mL^-1 for CS, Deg1 and Deg2, respectively. For PCR and PLS-2 models, a calibration set of eighteen mixtures and a validation set of seven mixtures were built for the simultaneous determination of CS, Deg1 and Deg2 in the ranges of 5-13 µg mL^-1, 8-16 µg mL^-1, and 10-30 µg mL^-1, respectively. The authors emphasize the importance of a stability-indicating strategy for the investigation of pharmaceutical products.

Characterization of impurities in sodium cromoglycate drug substance and eye drops using LC-ESI-ion trap MS and LC-ESI-QTOF MS

As requested by regulatory authorities, impurity profiling is an important issue of quality control. In this work, a simple and sensitive liquid chromatographic (LC) method compatible with mass spectrometry (MS) was developed to study related substances and degradation products in sodium cromoglycate drug substance and eye drops. The method used a Sunfire column (4.6mm×150mm, 3.5μm). Mobile phase A consisted of 10mM ammonium formate and mobile phase B was acetonitrile. Linear gradient elution with a post-run time of 8min was performed as follows: 0-30min, 3% B to 50% B; 30-35min, 50% B. The flow rate was set at 1.0mL/min. Degradation experiments were performed to check the stability indicating properties of the developed method. Based on MSⁿ spectral data and exact mass measurements, the chemical structures of 2 unknown impurities and 6 unknown degradation products were characterized, including impurity C listed in the European Pharmacopoeia as unknown structure. In addition, a plausible mechanism for the formation of the degradation products was also proposed.

Stability-Indicating RP-HPLC Methods for the Determination of Fluorometholone in Its Mixtures with Sodium Cromoglycate and Tetrahydrozoline Hydrochloride

Two stability-indicating reversed-phase liquid chromatographic methods were developed and validated for the determination of fluorometholone (FLU) in its mixtures with sodium cromoglycate (SCG) and tetrahydrozoline hydrochloride (THZ). The first HPLC method (Method 1) was based on isocratic elution of FLU and SCG along with their alkaline degradation products on a reversed phase C18 column (250 × 4.6 mm id)-ACE Generix 5, using a mobile phase consisting of methanol-water (70 : 30, v/v), pH adjusted to 2.5 using orthophosphoric acid at a flow rate of 1.2 mL min(-1) Quantitation was achieved with UV detection at 240 nm. The second HPLC method (Method 2) was based on isocratic elution of FLU, its alkaline degradation product and THZ on a reversed phase C8 column (250 × 4.6 mm)-ACE Generix 5, using a mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile-50 mM potassium dihydrogen orthophosphate (40 : 60, v/v) at a flow rate of 2 mL min(-1) Quantitation was achieved by applying dual-wavelength detection, where FLU and its alkaline degradation product were detected at 240 nm and THZ was detected at 215 nm at ambient temperatures. Linearity, accuracy and precision were found to be acceptable over the concentration range of 5-50 and 10-500 μg mL(-1) for FLU and SCG (Method 1) and over the concentration range of 5-80 and 5-60 μg mL(-1) for FLU and THZ (Method 2), respectively. Besides, the FLU alkaline degradation product was verified using IR, NMR and LC-MS spectroscopy. The two proposed methods could be successfully applied for the routine analysis of the studied drugs either in their pure bulk powders or in their pharmaceutical preparations without any preliminary separation step.

A comparative study of validated spectrophotometric and TLC- spectrodensitometric methods for the determination of sodium cromoglicate and fluorometholone in ophthalmic solution

The determination of sodium cromoglicate (SCG) and fluorometholone (FLU) in ophthalmic solution was developed by simple, sensitive and precise methods. Three spectrophotometric methods were applied: absorptivity factor (a-Factor method), absorption factor (AFM) and mean centering of ratio spectra (MCR). The linearity ranges of SCG were found to be (2.5-35 μg/mL) for (a-Factor method) and (MCR); while for (AFM), it was found to be (7.5-50 μg/mL). The linearity ranges of FLU were found to be (4-16 μg/mL) for (a-Factor method) and (AFM); while for (MCR), it was found to be (2-16 μg/mL). The mean percentage recoveries/RSD for SCG were found to be 100.31/0.90, 100.23/0.57 and 100.43/1.21; while for FLU, they were found to be 100.11/0.56, 99.97/0.35 and 99.94/0.88 using (a-Factor method), (AFM) and (MCR), respectively. A TLC-spectrodensitometric method was developed by separation of SCG and FLU on silica gel 60 F254 using chloroform:methanol:toluene:triethylamine in the ratio of (5:2:4:1 v/v/v/v) as developing system, followed by spectrodensitometric measurement of the bands at 241 nm. The linearity ranges and the mean percentage recoveries/RSD were found to be (0.4-4.4 μg/band), 100.24/1.44 and (0.2-1.6 μg/band), 99.95/1.50 for SCG and FLU, respectively. A comparative study was conducted between the proposed methods to discuss the advantage of each method. The suggested methods were validated in compliance with the ICH guidelines and were successfully applied for the determination of SCG and FLU in their laboratory prepared mixtures and commercial ophthalmic solution in the presence of benzalkonium chloride as a preservative. These methods could be an alternative to different HPLC techniques in quality control laboratories lacking the required facilities for those expensive techniques.

Hydrophilic interaction chromatography in drug analysis

Hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC) is an increasingly popular alternative to conventional HPLC for drug analysis. It offers increased selectivity and sensitivity, and improved efficiency when quantifying drugs and related compounds in complex matrices such as biological and environmental samples, pharmaceutical formulations, food, and animal feed. In this review we summarize HILIC methods recently developed for drug analysis (2006–2011). In addition, a list of important applications is provided, including experimental conditions and a brief summary of results. The references provide a comprehensive overview of current HILIC applications in drug analysis.

Validated stability-indicating derivative and derivative ratio methods for the determination of some drugs used to alleviate respiratory tract disorders and their degradation products

Derivative and derivative ratio methods are presented for the determination of butamirate citrate, formoterol fumarate, montelukast sodium, and sodium cromoglycate. Using the second derivative ultraviolet (UV) spectrophotometry, butamirate citrate and formoterol fumarate were determined by measuring the peak amplitude at 260.4 and 261.8 nm, respectively, without any interference of their degradation products. Butamirate citrate degradation product, 2-phenyl butyric acid, was determined by the measurement of its second derivative amplitude at 246.7 nm where butamirate citrate displays zero crossing. Formoterol fumarate degradation product, desformyl derivative, could be evaluated through the use of the first derivative at peak amplitude of 264.8 nm where interference of formoterol fumarate is negligible. In the first mode, the zero-crossing technique was applied at 305 nm for the determination of montelukast sodium in the presence of its photodegradation product, cis-isomer. The derivative of ratio spectra of montelukast sodium and its cis- isomer were used to determine both isomers using the first derivative of the ratio spectra by measuring the amplitudes of the trough at 305 nm and the peak at 308 nm, respectively. The later technique was also used for the determination of a ternary mixture of sodium cromoglycate and its two degradation products using zero-crossing method. In the derivative ratio spectra of the ternary mixture, trough depths were measured at 271.6, 302.8 and 302.2 nm, using the second, the first, and the second mode to evaluate sodium cromoglycate, degradation product (1) and degradation product (2), respectively. All the methods were applied successfully to the pharmaceutical preparation and were validated according to ICH guidelines.

Stationary and mobile phases in hydrophilic interaction chromatography: a review

Hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC) is valuable alternative to reversed-phase liquid chromatography separations of polar, weakly acidic or basic samples. In principle, this separation mode can be characterized as normal-phase chromatography on polar columns in aqueous-organic mobile phases rich in organic solvents (usually acetonitrile). Highly organic HILIC mobile phases usually enhance ionization in the electrospray ion source of a mass spectrometer, in comparison to mobile phases with higher concentrations of water generally used in reversed-phase (RP) LC separations of polar or ionic compounds, which is another reason for increasing popularity of this technique. Various columns can be used in the HILIC mode for separations of peptides, proteins, oligosaccharides, drugs, metabolites and various natural compounds: bare silica gel, silica-based amino-, amido-, cyano-, carbamate-, diol-, polyol-, zwitterionic sulfobetaine, or poly(2-sulphoethyl aspartamide) and other polar stationary phases chemically bonded on silica gel support, but also ion exchangers or zwitterionic materials showing combined HILIC-ion interaction retention mechanism. Some stationary phases are designed to enhance the mixed-mode retention character. Many polar columns show some contributions of reversed phase (hydrophobic) separation mechanism, depending on the composition of the mobile phase, which can be tuned to suit specific separation problems. Because the separation selectivity in the HILIC mode is complementary to that in reversed-phase and other modes, combinations of the HILIC, RP and other systems are attractive for two-dimensional applications. This review deals with recent advances in the development of HILIC phase separation systems with special attention to the properties of stationary phases. The effects of the mobile phase, of sample structure and of temperature on separation are addressed, too.