Surfactant–dye binding degree method for the determination of amphiphilic drugs

Surfactant to dye binding degree method for the determination of fluvoxamine maleate and citalopram hydrobromide in pharmaceuticals

The surfactant to dye binding degree (SBDB) methodology was used to determine fluvoxamine maleate and citalopram hydrobromide. Neutral red and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) were used as the dye and surfactant, respectively, to form dye-surfactant aggregates. When a cationic drug is added to dye-surfactant mixture, it interacts with the surfactant and decreases the dye-surfactant binding degree. This decrease is proportional to the drug concentration. This was measured by monitoring the absorbance changes of the dye at 532 nm. Under the optimum conditions, the calibration graphs were linear over the range of 1.2–15 μg mL−1 and 1.1–15 μg mL−1 for fluvoxamine maleate and citalopram hydrobromide, respectively. The detection limits (signal to noise ratio = 3) were found to be 0.37 and 0.35 μg mL−1, for fluvoxamine maleate and citalopram hydrobromide, respectively.

Predicting sorption of pharmaceuticals and personal care products onto soil and digested sludge using artificial neural networks

A comprehensive analytical investigation of the sorption behaviour of a large selection of over-the-counter, prescribed pharmaceuticals and illicit drugs to agricultural soils and freeze-dried digested sludges is presented. Batch sorption experiments were carried out to identify which compounds could potentially concentrate in soils as a result of biosolid enrichment. Analysis of aqueous samples was carried out directly using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). For solids analysis, combined pressurised liquid extraction and solid phase extraction methods were used prior to LC-MS/MS. Solid-water distribution coefficients (K(d)) were calculated based on slopes of sorption isotherms over a defined concentration range. Molecular descriptors such as log P, pK(a), molar refractivity, aromatic ratio, hydrophilic factor and topological surface area were collected for all solutes and, along with generated K(d) data, were incorporated as a training set within a developed artificial neural network to predict K(d) for all solutes within both sample types. Therefore, this work represents a novel approach using combined and cross-validated analytical and computational techniques to confidently study sorption modes within the environment. The logarithm plots of predicted versus experimentally determined K(d) are presented which showed excellent correlation (R(2) > 0.88), highlighting that artificial neural networks could be used as a predictive tool for this application. To evaluate the developed model, it was used to predict K(d) for meclofenamic acid, mefenamic acid, ibuprofen and furosemide and subsequently compared to experimentally determined values in soil. Ratios of experimental/predicted K(d) values were found to be 1.00, 1.00, 1.75 and 1.65, respectively.

Determination of cationic surfactants in pharmaceuticals based on competitive aggregation in ternary amphiphile mixtures

The surfactant to dye binding degree (SDBD) method was extended for the first time to the determination of cationic amphiphiles. For this purpose, Cresyl Violet (CV) and sodium dodecylsulphate (SDS) were selected as dye and reactant surfactant, respectively. This chemical system was used for the determination of cationic surfactants in pharmaceuticals. The approach was based on the competition established between the dye and cationic analytes to form mixed aggregates with the anionic surfactant (SDS-CV and SDS-analyte), which resulted in an increase of the amount of SDS required to reach a given SDS-CV binding degree. The feasibility of the proposed method to determine quaternary ammonium surfactants belonging to different structural groups (alkyldimethylbenzylammonium chlorides, alkyltrimethylammonium bromides and alkylpyridinium chlorides) in a wide variety of pharmaceutical formulations (solutions, creams and powders) was proved. The analytical features of the SDBD method (versatility, high precision and selectivity, ruggedness, rapidity, simplicity and low cost) made it an advantageous alternative to the conventional methods used in cationic surfactant quality control.

Pharmaceutical quality control of acid and neutral drugs based on competitive self-assembly in amphiphilic systems

An aggregation parameter-based methodology for determining acid and neutral drugs in pharmaceutical dosage forms is presented. The method is based on competitive self-assembly in ternary dye-surfactant-drug aqueous mixtures. Dyes bearing charge of opposite sign to that of surfactants bind to surfactant to form mixed dye-surfactant aggregates, which are monitored from changes in the spectra features of the dye. The drug competes with the dye to interact with the surfactant to form drug-surfactant aggregates, which results in a decrease in the surfactant to dye binding degree proportional to the drug concentration in the aqueous solution. Coomassie Brilliant Blue G (CBBG) and didodecyldimethylammonium bromide (DDABr) were the dye and surfactant reactant used, respectively. The suitability of the surfactant to dye binding degree (SDBD) method to determine drugs with very different molecular structure: propionic (flurbiprofen, ibuprofen, naproxen and ketoprofen) and acetic (diclofenac, felbinac and zomepirac) acids, indolines (indomethacin and sulindac), glycyrrhetinic acid derivatives (carbenoxolone and enoxolone), salicylates (diflunisal and phenyl salicylate), oxicams (meloxicam, piroxicam and tenoxicam), pyrazolones (phenylbutazone and sulfinpyrazone) and hydrocortisones (dexamethasone and prednisolone) has been proved. The proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of drugs in commercial formulates (effervescent granulates, tablets, suppositories, gels and blisters) with a minimum sample treatment (dilution of liquid samples and dissolution of solid samples).

Determination of aromatic hydrotropic drugs in pharmaceutical preparations by the surfactant-binding degree method

An aggregation parameter-based analytical approach, the surfactant-dye binding degree (SDBD) method, was used, for the first time, to determine aromatic hydrotropic compounds. The anionic dye Coomassie Brilliant Blue G (CBBG) was used as inductor of didodecyldimethylammonium bromide (DDABr) aggregates, whose formation was monitored from changes in the spectral features of the dye. Interactions between hydrotrope and DDABr molecules resulted in a decrease of the degree of binding of the cationic surfactant to CBBG, which was proportional to the concentration of hydrotrope in the aqueous solution. The CBBG-DDABr-hydrotrope chemical system was found to fit to the mathematical expression previously derived for the determination of amphiphilic compounds. The hydrotrope-surfactant bond strength determined the sensitivity achieved for the determination of hydrotropic compounds, which was highly dependent on the molecular structure of the analyte. The high precision (the relative standard deviation for 7 mg l(-1) of salicylic acid was 0.8%), rapidity (measurements were performed in a few minutes) and low cost (in both instrumentation and reactants) of the proposed method, made it especially suitable for quality control. The practical analytical applicability of the SDBD method for the control of hydrotropic drugs in pharmaceutical preparations was demonstrated by quantifying salicylic acid and acetyl salicylic acid in liquid (solutions) and solid (tablets, granulates, unguents, gels and creams) samples, which were directly analyzed after dissolution of the samples.