Liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometric studies of indinavir sulphate and its forced degradation products

LC-HRMS and NMR studies for the characterization of degradation impurities of ubrogepant along with the in silico approaches for the prediction of degradation and toxicity

Ubrogepant is the first oral calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) receptor antagonist which is used for the acute treatment of migraine in adults. The present study employs liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) techniques for the identification and characterization of degradation impurities of ubrogepant. The forced degradation study of ubrogepant was performed as per the International Council for Harmonisation (ICH) Q1A and Q1B guidelines. The in silico degradation profile of ubrogepant was predicted by Zeneth. It was observed that ubrogepant was labile to acidic hydrolysis, basic hydrolysis, and oxidative degradation conditions (H2O2), although it was stable in neutral hydrolysis and photolytic (UV light and visible light) conditions. Eight degradation impurities were formed, which were separated on reversed-phase HPLC with a gradient program on an InertSustain C8 column (4.6 × 250 mm, 5 µm) using 10 mM ammonium formate (pH unadjusted) and acetonitrile as the mobile phase. The structures of all the degradation impurities were characterized using the exact masses obtained from the HRMS/MS. Further, NMR studies were conducted on two major degradation impurities (UB-4 and UB-7). A plausible mechanism was proposed to support the structures of all the degradation impurities of UBR. In silico toxicity and mutagenicity assessment were done by DEREK Nexus, SARAH Nexus, and ProTox-II.

Tandem mass spectrometry of small-molecule antiviral drugs: 1. HIV-related antivirals

Antiviral drugs are a class of compounds developed specifically for the treatment of viral infections. In the development and subsequent application of antiviral drugs, like for any other class of drugs, quantitative analysis in biological matrix is important, e.g., to establish bioavailability, to study pharmacokinetics, and later on possibly for therapeutic drug monitoring. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) with tandem mass spectrometry (MS-MS) operated in selected-reaction monitoring (SRM) mode is the method of choice in quantitative bioanalysis. As information of the fragmentation of antiviral drugs in MS-MS is very much scattered in the scientific literature, it was decided to collect this information and to review it, not only to understand which product ions are actually used in SRM, but also to assist in other studies, e.g., in the identification of drug metabolites or (forced) degradation products. In this first study, attention is paid to antiviral agents used against HIV infection. The review provides fragmentation schemes of ca. 40 antiviral agents as well as several phosphorylated anabolites. The identity of the product ions used in SRM, i.e., elemental composition and exact-m/z, is tabulated, and more detailed fragmentation schemes are provided.

Development of a stability-indicating HPLC method of etifoxine with characterization of degradation products by LC-MS/TOF, 1H and 13C NMR

This paper describes a new LC-MS/TOF method for the degradation products determination when Etifoxine (ETI) is submitted to different stress conditions. Chromatography is performed by using Kromasil C18 column (250mm×4.6mm, 5μm particle size). The selected mobile phase consists of formate buffer 0.02M, pH 3 and methanol (70/30, v/v). ETI is submitted to oxidative, acidic, basic, hydrolytic, thermal and UV light degradations. Detection is made at 254nm by photodiode array detector and mass spectrometry. A number of degradation products (DPs) called DPA, DPB, DPC and DPD are found depending on the stress; DPA with heat, DPA and DPB in acidic media or under UV-light; DPA, DPB and DPC under basic stress; DPA, DPB, DPC and DPD with oxidation. LC-MS/TOF is used to characterize the four DPs of ETI resulting from different stress conditions. (1)H and (13)C NMR are used to confirm the DP structures. The ETI fragmentation pathway is proposed. The method is validated with reference to International Conference on Harmonization guidelines and ETI are selectively determined in presence of its DPs, demonstrating its stability-indicating nature. Finally, for the validation step, specificity, linearity, accuracy and precision are determined for ETI and its DPs.

Identification and characterization of stress degradants of lacosamide by LC-MS and ESI-Q-TOF-MS/MS: development and validation of a stability indicating RP-HPLC method

The current study dealt with the degradation behavior of lacosamide (LAC) under ICH prescribed stress conditions. LAC was found to be labile under acid and base hydrolytic stress conditions, while it was stable to neutral hydrolytic, oxidative, photolytic and thermal stress. In total, seven degradation products (DPs) were formed, which were separated on a C18 column using a stability-indicating method. LC-MS analyses indicated that one of the DPs had the same molecular mass as that of the drug. Structural characterization of DPs was carried out using ESI-Q-TOF-MS/MS technique. The degradation pathways and mechanisms of degradation of the drug were delineated by carrying out the degradation in different co-solvents viz. methanol, deuterated methanol, ethanol, 1-propanol and acetonitrile. The developed LC method was validated for the determination of related substances and assay of LAC as per ICH guidelines. This study demonstrates a comprehensive approach of LAC degradation studies during its development phase.