Simple and specific reversed-phase liquid chromatographic method with diode-array detection for simultaneous determination of serum hydroxychloroquine, chloroquine and some corticosteroids

Development and Validation of a Simple and Rapid Ultrahigh-Performance Liquid Chromatography Tandem Spectrometry Method for the Quantification of Hydroxychloroquine in Plasma and Blood Samples in the Emergency Context of SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic

ABSTRACT

Therapeutic drug monitoring of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) has been recommended to optimize the treatment of patients with COVID-19. The authors describe an ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography tandem spectrometry method developed in a context of emergency, to analyze HCQ in both human plasma and blood samples. After adding the labeled internal standard and simple protein precipitation, plasma samples were analyzed using a C18 column. Blood samples required evaporation before analysis. The total chromatographic run time was 4 minutes (including 1.5 minutes of column equilibration). The assay was linear over the calibration range (r2 > 0.99) and up to 1.50 mcg/mL for the plasma samples (5.00 mcg/mL for the blood matrix). The limit of quantification was 0.0150 mcg/mL for plasma samples (0.05 mcg/mL blood matrix) with accuracy and precision ranging from 91.1% to 112% and from 0.750% to 11.1%, respectively. Intraday and interday precision and accuracy values were within 15.0%. No significant matrix effect was observed in the plasma or blood samples. This method was successfully applied to patients treated for COVID-19 infection. A simple and rapid ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography tandem spectrometry method adapted to HCQ therapeutic drug monitoring in the context of SARS-CoV-2 infection was successfully developed and validated.

HPLC methods for choloroquine determination in biological samples and pharmaceutical products

OBJECTIVE

Review and assess pharmaceutical and clinical characteristics of chloroquine including high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-based methods used to quantify the drug in pharmaceutical products and biological samples.

EVIDENCE ACQUISITION

A literature review was undertaken on the PubMed, Science Direct, and Scielo databases using the following keywords related to the investigated subject: 'chloroquine', 'analytical methods', and 'HPLC'.

RESULTS

For more than seven decades, chloroquine has been used to treat malaria and some autoimmune diseases, such as lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis. There is growing interest in chloroquine as a therapeutic alternative in the treatment of HIV, Q fever, Whipple's disease, fungal, Zika, Chikungunya infections, Sjogren's syndrome, porphyria, chronic ulcerative stomatitis, polymorphic light eruption, and different types of cancer. HPLC coupled to UV detectors is the most employed method to quantify chloroquine in pharmaceutical products and biological samples. The main chromatographic conditions used to identify and quantify chloroquine from tablets and injections, degradation products, and metabolites are presented and discussed.

CONCLUSION

Research findings reported in this article may facilitate the repositioning, quality control, and biological monitoring of chloroquine in modern pharmaceutical dosage forms and treatments.

Cyclodextrin-mediated gold nanoparticles as multisensing probe for the selective detection of hydroxychloroquine drug

β-Cyclodextrin (β-CD) modified gold nanoparticles (AuNP) were rapidly synthesized using microwave assisted procedure. Parameters, such as time, pH and concentrations of β-CD and gold, were optimized for the synthesis of β-CD-AuNP. The addition of enantiomers and racemic mixture of hydroxychloroquine (R-HCQ, S-HCQ and RS-HCQ) drugs and their interaction with β-CD led to a red shift in the surface plasmon resonance of β-CD-AuNP. The changes associated with the introduction of HCQ in β-CD-AuNP were studied using various characterization techniques such as UV-vis, FT-IR, XRD, dynamic light scattering, zeta potential, transmission electron microscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy and electrochemical techniques. The host-guest interaction of β-cyclodextrin with S-HCQ, R-HCQ and RS-HCQ resulted in the aggregation of gold nanoparticles. The surface plasmon resonance at 521 nm for β-CD-AuNP was shifted to 600, 620 and 670 nm on the addition of S-HCQ, R-HCQ and RS-HCQ, respectively, with a color change from pink to blue. The selectivity and sensitivity of the developed system for RS-HCQ were investigated and the limit of detection (LOD=3 s/m) was found to be 2.61, 0.15, and 0.85 nM for optical, fluorescence and electrochemical methods, respectively. The successful monitoring of RS-HCQ drug in pharmaceutical samples is possible with these techniques.

Electronic Supplementary Material

Supplementary material is available for this article at 10.1007/s11814-020-0719-7 and is accessible for authorized users.

In vitro Dissolution Profile at Different Biological pH Conditions of Hydroxychloroquine Sulfate Tablets Is Available for the Treatment of COVID-19

Hydroxychloroquine sulfate is one of an extensive series of 4-aminoquinolines with antimalarial activity. Moreover, it is used for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Sometimes, hydroxychloroquine sulfate is beneficial for the treatment of autoimmune diseases. Based on recent clinical experiments, it is exploited for the treatment of COVID-19, coronavirus across the globe. The chromatogram separation was achieved by using Agilent, Zorbax C8, 250 mm × 4.6 mm i.d., column. The buffer consists of 0.01 M of 1-pentane sulfonic acid and 0.02% of orthophosphoric acid in purified water. Mixed buffer, acetonitrile, and methanol (800:100:100 v/v). The flow rate was 1.0 ml min-1, and injection volume was 10 μl. Detection was made at 254 nm by using a dual absorbance detector (DAD). The reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) method has been developed and validated as per the current International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) guidelines to estimate hydroxychloroquine sulfate tablets. As part of method validation, specificity, linearity, precision, and recovery parameters were verified. The concentration and area relationships were linear (R 2 > 0.999) over the concentration range of 25-300 μg ml-1 for hydroxychloroquine (HCQ). The relative standard deviations for precision and intermediate precision were <1.5%. The proposed RP-HPLC generic method was applied successfully to evaluate the in vitro dissolution profile with different pH conditions such as 0.1 N HCl, pH 4.5 acetate buffer, and pH 6.8 phosphate buffers as US-marketed reference products.

Stability Indicating LC Method Development for Hydroxychloroquine Sulfate Impurities as Available for Treatment of COVID-19 and Evaluation of Risk Assessment Prior to Method Validation by Quality by Design Approach

A quality by design-based stability indicating HPLC method has been developed for hydroxychloroquine sulfate impurities. The optimized HPLC method can detect and quantify the hydroxychloroquine sulfate and related organic impurities in pharmaceutical solid oral dosage forms. Nowadays, for the quantification of impurities in drug products demands more comprehensive way of analytical method development. The quality by design approach allows the assessment of different analytical parameters and their effects with minimum number of experiments. A highly sensitive and stability indicating RP-HPLC method was developed and evaluated the risk assessment prior to method validation. The chromatographic separation was achieved with X-terra phenyl column (250 × 4.6 mm, 5 µm) using phosphate buffer (0.3 M and pH 2.5). The gradient method flow rate was 1.5 mL min-1 and UV detection was made at 220 nm. The calibration curve of hydroxychloroquine sulfate and related impurities were linear from LOQ to 150% and correlation coefficient was found more than 0.999. The precision and intermediate precision % RSD values were found less than 2.0. In all forced degradation conditions, the purity angle of HCQ was found less than purity threshold. The optimized method found to be specific, accurate, rugged, and robust for determination of hydroxychloroquine sulfate impurities in the solid oral dosage forms. Finally, the method was applied successfully in quality control lab for stability analysis.

Analytical Methods on Determination in Pharmaceuticals and Biological Materials of Chloroquine as Available for the Treatment of COVID-19

With the outbreak caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (COVID-19), people's health and existing economies on a global scale are seriously threatened. Currently, most of the countries all over the world are studying extensively to better understand the antimalarial chloroquine (CQ) and hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) for therapeutic purposes due to the COVID-19 outbreak. However, CQ and HCQ can have serious side effects, from psychiatric effects to sudden death. Therefore, a faster and more effective detection method is needed to monitor drug concentrations. In this review, a large study was conducted on the detection techniques and quantitative determination methods of CQ and its related metabolites. In this review, chromatography, electrophoresis, electroanalytical, spectroscopic, and immunological methods for CQ and related metabolites are discussed extensively. It is hoped that a better understanding of the CQ used for therapeutic purposes in the COVID-19 outbreak will be provided.

A Novel RP-HPLC-DAD Method Development for Anti-Malarial and COVID-19 Hydroxy Chloroquine Sulfate Tablets and Profiling of In-Vitro Dissolution in Multimedia

Hydroxychloroquine sulfate is one of a large series of 4-aminoquinolines with antimalarial activity. Moreover, it is used for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Sometimes Hydroxychloroquine sulfate is very effective for the treatment of autoimmune diseases. Based on the recent clinical experiments it is exploiting for the treatment of COVID-19, corona virus across the globe. A Reverse phase RP-HPLC method have been developed and validated as per the current ICH guidelines for estimation of Hydroxychloroquine sulfate tablets. As part of method validation specificity, linearity, precision and recovery parameters were verified. The concentration and area relationships were linear (R2 > 0.999), over the concentration range of 25 to 300 μg mL-1 for HCQ. The relative standard deviations for precision and intermediate precision were less than 1.5%. The proposed RP-HPLC generic method was applied successfully for evaluation of invitro dissolution profile with different pH conditions like 0.1N HCl, pH 4.5 Acetate buffer and pH 6.8 Phosphate buffers of US marketed reference product.

Implant delivering hydroxychloroquine attenuates vaginal T lymphocyte activation and inflammation

Evidence suggests that women who are naturally resistant to HIV infection exhibit low baseline immune activation at the female genital tract (FGT). This "immune quiescent" state is associated with lower expression of T-cell activation markers, reduced levels of gene transcription and pro-inflammatory cytokine or chemokine production involved in HIV infection while maintaining an intact immune response against pathogens. Therefore, if this unique immune quiescent state can be pharmacologically induced locally, it will provide an excellent women-oriented strategy against HIV infection To our knowledge, this is the first research article evaluating in vivo, an innovative trackable implant that can provide controlled delivery of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) to successfully attenuate vaginal T lymphocyte activation and inflammation in a rabbit model as a potential strategy to induce an "immune quiescent" state within the FGT for the prevention of HIV infection. This biocompatible implant can deliver HCQ above therapeutic concentrations in a controlled manner, reduce submucosal immune cell recruitment, improve mucosal epithelium integrity, decrease protein and gene expression of T-cell activation markers, and attenuate the induction of key pro-inflammatory mediators. Our results suggest that microbicides designed to maintain a low level of immune activation at the FGT may offer a promising new strategy for reducing HIV infection.

Development and Validation of Reversed-Phase High Performance Liquid Chromatographic Method for Hydroxychloroquine Sulphate

In the present work new, simple reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatographic method was developed and validated for the determination of hydroxychloroquine sulphate in blood plasma. Chloroquine sulphate was used as an internal standard. The chromatographic separation was achieved with octadecyl silane Hypersil C18 column (250×6 mm, 5 μm) using water and organic (acetonitrile:methanol: 50:50, v/v) mobile phase in 75:25 v/v ratio, with sodium 1-pentanesulfonate and phosphoric acid. This organic phase was maintained at pH 3.0 by orthophosphoric acid. The flow rate of 2.0 ml/min(.) with detection at 343 nm was used in the analysis. The calibration curve of standard hydroxychloroquine sulphate was linear in range 0.1-20.0 μg/ml. The method was validated with respected to linearity, range, precision, accuracy, specificity and robustness studies according to ICH guidelines. The method was found to be accurate and robust to analyze the hydroxychloroquine sulphate in plasma samples.

Modified carbon paste and polymeric membrane electrodes for determination of hydroxychloroquine sulfate in pharmaceutical preparations and human urine

This article describes characteristics, performance and application of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) polymeric membrane (PMEs) and modified carbon paste (CPEs) electrodes which are based on sodium tetraphenylborate (NaTPB) or ammonium reineckate (Rt) as sensing materials.

Micelle Based Spectrofluorimetric Determination of Chloroquine Phosphate in Commercial Formulation and Human Plasma

Simple, sensitive and economic spectrofluorimetric method has been described for the determination of chloroquine phosphate in pure form, pharmaceutical formulations and spiked human plasma. In the developed method, fluorescence intensity of chloroquine phosphate was enhanced with 0.4 M sodium dodecyl sulfate in basic media of pH 10 at room temperature. The excitation and emission wavelengths of the fluorescent chloroquine phosphate are 330 nm and 369 nm respectively. The developed approach has a broad linear range (0.03–5 μg mL−1) with a correlation coefficient of 0.9976. The limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) was found to be 3.38 × 10−3 μg mL−1 and 1.12 × 10−2 μg mL−1 respectively. The common additives and co-administered medications were investigated for their interferences effect in the assay. The method was validated statistically through recovery studies and successfully applied to chloroquine phosphate determination in bulk powder, pharmaceutical preparation and spiked human plasma samples. The percent recoveries were found to be in the range of 99.42–100.46 % for bulk powder, 97.48–101.21 % for pharmaceutical formulations and 96.49–98.48 % for spiked human plasma.

Development of polyether urethane intravaginal rings for the sustained delivery of hydroxychloroquine

Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) has been shown to demonstrate anti-inflammatory properties and direct anti-HIV activity. In this study, we describe for the first time the fabrication and in vitro evaluation of two types of intravaginal ring (IVR) devices (a surfaced-modified matrix IVR and a reservoir segmental IVR) for achieving sustained delivery (>14 days) of HCQ as a strategy for preventing male-to-female transmission of HIV. Both IVRs were fabricated by hot-melt injection molding. Surface-modified matrix IVRs with polyvinylpyrrolidone or poly(vinyl alcohol) coatings exhibited significantly reduced burst release on the first day (6.45% and 15.72% reduction, respectively). Reservoir IVR segments designed to release lower amounts of HCQ displayed near-zero-order release kinetics with an average release rate of 28.38 μg/mL per day for IVRs loaded with aqueous HCQ and 32.23 μg/mL per day for IVRs loaded with HCQ mixed with a rate-controlling excipient. Stability studies demonstrated that HCQ was stable in coated or noncoated IVRs for 30 days. The IVR segments had no significant effect on cell viability, pro-inflammatory cytokine production, or colony formation of vaginal and ectocervical epithelial cells. Both IVR systems may be suitable for the prevention of HIV transmission and other sexually transmitted infections.

Identification and characterization of process related impurities in chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine by LC/IT/MS, LC/TOF/MS and NMR

The focus of this study is identification and characterization of major unknown impurities in chloroquine (CQ) and hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) bulk drug samples using liquid chromatography/ion trap mass spectrometry (LC/IT/MS) and liquid chromatography/time of flight mass spectrometry (LC/TOF/MS). The newly developed LC/MS method was employed for the analysis of both the drugs. The analysis revealed the presence of two impurities in each of the drugs. The impurities are designated as CQ-I, CQ-II (for chloroquine); HCQ-I and HCQ-II (for hydroxychloroquine). Three of the impurities, CQ-II, HCQ-I and HCQ-II were unknown have not been reported previously. Accurate masses of the impurities were determined by using Q-TOF mass spectrometer and fragmentation behavior was studied by an ion trap mass spectrometer. Based on the spectrometric data and synthetic specifics the structures of CQ-II, HCQ-I and HCQ-II were proposed as 1,4 pentanediamine, N(4)(7-chloro-4-quinolinyl), N(4)-chloromethyl, N(4)-ethylamine; 2-(4-(7-chloroquinolin-4-ylamino) pentylamino) ethanol and [[4-[(7-chloro-4-quinolyl) amino] N-pentyl] N-chloromethyl-N-ethylamino] ethanol respectively. The impurities were isolated by semi-preparative HPLC and structures were confirmed by NMR spectroscopy. The formation and through characterization of known CQ-I impurity is also discussed.

Detection of glucocorticoid residues in pig liver by high-performance liquid chromatography with on-line electrogenerated [Cu(HIO6)2]5−—luminol chemiluminescence detection

A novel method was developed for the simultaneous determination of glucocorticoid residues such as triamcinolone (TR), prednisolone (PR), hydrocortisone (HC), cortisone (CO), methylprednisolone (MP), dexamethasone (DE) and triamcinolone acetonide (TA) by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with chemiluminescence (CL) detection. The procedure was based on the enhancement effect of glucocorticoids on the chemiluminescence reaction between luminol and the complex of trivalent copper and periodate ([Cu(HIO6)2]5-), which was on-line electrogenerated by constant current electrolysis. The HPLC separation used a Nucleosil RP-C18 column (250 mmx4.6 mm i.d., 5 microm, pore size, 100 A) with a mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile and 1.0 mmol L(-1) ammonium acetate (pH 6.8, 40:60,v/v) at a flow rate of 0.8 mL min(-1). The effects of several parameters on the HPLC resolution and CL emission were studied systematically. Liver samples were hydrolyzed with Helix pomatia juice followed by a solid-phase extraction procedure. Under optimum conditions, the limits of detection (LOD) at a signal-to-noise of 3 ranged from 0.08 to 1.0 ng g(-1) and the limits of quantification (LOQ) at a signal-to-noise of 10 ranged from 0.27 to 3.33 ng g(-1) for seven glucocorticoids. The relative standard deviations (RSD) of intra- and inter-day precision were below 6.8%. The average recoveries for glucocorticoids (spiked at the levels of 5-50 ng g(-1)) in pig liver ranged from 88 to 106%, and the relative standard deviations of the quantitative results were from 2.0 to 6.9%. The proposed method had been successfully applied to the determination of glucocorticoid residues in pig liver.

Sensitive and rapid liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometric assay for the quantification of chloroquine in dog plasma

A simple, sensitive and rapid liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometric (LC-MS/MS) method was developed and validated for quantification of chloroquine, an antimalarial drug, in plasma using its structural analogue, piperazine bis chloroquinoline as internal standard (IS). The method is based on simple protein precipitation with methanol followed by a rapid isocratic elution with 10 mM ammonium acetate buffer/methanol (25/75, v/v, pH 4.6) on Chromolith SpeedROD RP-18e reversed phase chromatographic column and subsequent analysis by mass spectrometry in the multiple reaction monitoring mode (MRM). The precursor to product ion transitions of m/z 320.3-->247.2 and m/z 409.1-->205.2 were used to measure the analyte and the IS, respectively. The assay exhibited a linear dynamic range of 2.0-489.1 ng/mL for chloroquine in dog plasma. The limit of detection (LOD) and lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) were 0.4 and 2.0 ng/mL, respectively in 0.05 mL plasma. Acceptable precision and accuracy were obtained for concentrations over the standard curve range of 2.0-489.1 ng/mL. A run time of 2.0 min for a sample made it possible to achieve a throughput of more than 400 plasma samples analyzed per day. The validated method was successfully used to analyze samples of dog plasma during non-clinical study of chloroquine.

HPLC and HPTLC assays for the antimalarial agents Chloroquine, Primaquine and Bulaquine

A combination Kit for antirelapse treatment of P. vivax malaria, consisting of Chloroquine phosphate tablets and Bulaquine capsules has been recently developed, and marketed under the trade name Aablaquine. Bulaquine is prepared from Primaquine. Several methods of analysis are reported for each drug separately as well two drugs in combination but no method for simultaneous estimation of these three drugs is known. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to develop a sensitive and reproducible high performance liquid chromatographic as well as high performance thin layer chromatographic assay method for the simultaneous estimation of Chloroquine, Primaquine and Bulaquine.

Electrochemical study of hydroxychloroquine and its determination in plaquenil by differential pulse voltammetry

Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) is a halogenated aminoquinoline that presents wide biological activity, often being used as an antimalarial drug. The electrochemical reduction of HCQ was investigated by cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry using glassy carbon electrodes. By cyclic voltammetry, in acid medium, only the cathodic peak was observed. The electrochemical behavior of this peak is dependent on pH and the electrodic process occurs through an E(r)C(i) mechanism. The electron number (1e) consumed in the reduction of HCQ was obtained by chronoamperometry. A method for the electrochemical determination of HCQ in pharmaceutical tablets was developed using differential pulse voltammetry. The detection limit reached was 11.2 microg ml(-1) of HCQ with a relative standard deviation of 0.46%. A spectrophotometric study of HCQ has been also carried out utilizing a band at 343 nm. The obtained detection limit and the relative standard deviation were 0.1 microg ml(-1) and 0.36%, respectively. The electrochemical methods are sufficiently accurate and precise to be applied for HCQ determination, in laboratorial routine, which can be used to determine the drug at low level.

Fatal chloroquine intoxication

A suicidal ingestion of an unknown quantity of Resochin (chloroquine) tablets is described. Although chloroquine is known since 1934, intoxications due to chloroquine overdose are rather rare in European countries. The authors report on a new and fast method of analysing and determining the chloroquine concentration in body fluids and postmortem specimens. The analytes were extracted from alkalinized samples into ethyl acetate before GC/MS analysis. The analyses of chloroquine were performed without any complex sample clean-up steps and, in addition, with little sample material. The proposed method resulted in a rapid procedure most useful in cases of deliberate poisoning with the anti-inflammatory and antimalarial drug chloroquine.