Enantiomeric impurity analysis using circular dichroism spectroscopy with United States Pharmacopeia liquid chromatographic methods

Synthesis and absolute configuration of cyclic synthetic cathinones derived from α-tetralone

The emergence of new synthetic cathinones continues to be a matter of public health concern. In fact, already known products (drugs) are being rapidly replaced by new structurally related alternatives, whereby modifications in the basic cathinone structure are used by manufacturers to circumvent the legislation. On the other hand, some derivatives of synthetic cathinones represent important pharmaceuticals with antidepressant properties. In the search for pharmaceutically relevant analogs, the main goal of the present study was to design and characterize novel cyclic α-tetralone-based derivatives of synthetic cathinones. We synthesized a series of derivatives and verified their chemical structure. Subsequently, chiral separation has been accomplished by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) equipped with a circular dichroism (CD) detector, which directly provided CD spectra of the enantiomers of the analyzed substances at 252 nm. Using density functional theory calculations, we have obtained stable conformers of selected enantiomers in solution and their relative abundances, which we used to simulate their spectra. The experimental and calculated data have been used to assign the absolute configuration of six as-yet unknown synthetic cathinones.

Amino alcohol-derived chiral stationary phases

An updated minireview of chiral stationary phases (CSPs) based on amino alcohols is presented. In this minireview, we focused on amino alcohols as starting materials in preparation of chiral catalysts for asymmetric organic synthesis and CSPs for chiral separations. Among the various CSPs, we summarized the important developments and applications of the amino alcohol-based Pirkle-type CSPs, ligand exchange CSPs, α-amino acid-derived amino alcohol CSPs, and symmetric CSPs from their first appearance to the present day to propose ideas for the development of new CSPs with improved performance.

Development and Validation for Quantification of 7-Nitroso Impurity in Sitagliptin by Ultraperformance Liquid Chromatography with Triple Quadrupole Mass Spectrometry

The purpose of this research study was to develop an analytical method for the quantification of 7-nitroso-3-(trifluoromethyl)-5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-[1,2,4] triazolo [4,3-a] pyrazine (7-nitroso impurity), which is a potential genotoxic impurity. Since sitagliptin is an anti-diabetic medication used to treat type 2 diabetes and the duration of the treatment is long-term, the content of nitroso impurity must be controlled by using suitable techniques. To quantify this impurity, a highly sensitive and reproducible ultraperformance liquid chromatography with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) method was developed. The analysis was performed on a Kromasil-100, with a C18 column (100 mm × 4.6 mm with a particle size of 3.5 µm) at an oven temperature of approximately 40 °C. The mobile phase was composed of 0.12% formic acid in water, with methanol as mobile phases A and B, and the flow rate was set to 0.6 mL/min. The method was validated according to the current International Council for Harmonisation (ICH) guidelines with respect to acceptable limits, specificity, reproducibility, accuracy, linearity, precision, ruggedness and robustness. This method is useful for the detection of the impurity at the lowest limit of detection (LOD), which was 0.002 ppm, and the lowest limit of quantification (LOQ), which was 0.005 ppm. This method was linear in the range of 0.005 to 0.06 ppm and the square of the correlation coefficient (R2) was determined to be > 0.99. This method could help to determine the impurity in the regular analysis of sitagliptin drug substances and drug products.

An Overview of Advances in the Chromatography of Drugs Impurity Profiling

A systematic literature survey published in several journals of pharmaceutical chemistry and of chromatography used to analyze impurities for most of the drugs that have been reviewed. This article covers the period from 2016 to 2020, in which almost of chromatographic techniques have been used for drug impurity analysis. These chromatography techniques are important in the analysis and description of drug impurities. Moreover, some recent developments in forced impurity profiling have been discussed, such as buffer solutions, mobile phase, columns, elution modes, and detectors are highlighted in drugs used for the study. This primarily focuses on thorough updating of different analytical methods which include hyphenated techniques for detecting and quantifying impurity and degradation levels in various pharmaceutical matrices.

Progress in the Enantioseparation of β-Blockers by Chromatographic Methods

β-adrenergic antagonists (β-blockers) with at least one chiral center are an exceedingly important class of drugs used mostly to treat cardiovascular diseases. At least 70 β-blockers have been investigated in history. However, only a few β-blockers, e.g., timolol, are clinically marketed as an optically pure enantiomer. Therefore, the separation of racemates of β-blockers is essential both in the laboratory and industry. Many approaches have been explored to obtain the single enantiomeric β-blocker, including high performance liquid chromatography, supercritical fluid chromatography and simulated moving bed chromatography. In this article, a review is presented on different chromatographic methods applied for the enantioseparation of β-blockers, covering high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) and simulated moving bed chromatography (SMB).

Chiral Stationary Phases for Liquid Chromatography: Recent Developments

The planning and development of new chiral stationary phases (CSPs) for liquid chromatography (LC) are considered as continuous and evolutionary issues since the introduction of the first CSP in 1938. The main objectives of the development strategies were to attempt the improvement of the chromatographic enantioresolution performance of the CSPs as well as enlarge their versatility and range of applications. Additionally, the transition to ultra-high-performance LC were underscored. The most recent strategies have comprised the introduction of new chiral selectors, the use of new materials as chromatographic supports or the reduction of its particle size, and the application of different synthetic approaches for preparation of CSPs. This review gathered the most recent developments associated to the different types of CSPs providing an overview of the relevant advances that are arising on LC.

On the Absolute Stereochemistry of Tolterodine: A Circular Dichroism Study

Tolterodine (1) is a potent muscarinic receptor antagonist used in the treatment of overactive urinary bladder (OAB) syndrome. Tolterodine is chiral and it was patented, and is currently marketed, as the l-tartrate salt of the (R)-enantiomer. However, the existing literature does not offer an ultimate proof of a stereoselective mode of action of 1. A second open stereochemical issue concerns the absolute configuration (AC) of 1. Neither the original patents nor subsequent studies have established the AC of 1 in an unambiguous way, although the AC of the l-tartrate salt of 1 was assigned by X-ray diffractometry. Finally, neither electronic nor vibrational circular dichroism (ECD and VCD) spectra of 1 are reported so far. We performed a thorough ECD/VCD study of 1 in different solvents and at variable temperatures. Solvent and temperature dependence highlighted the existence of moderate flexibility which was confirmed by molecular modelling. ECD calculations with time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) accurately reproduced the experimental spectra and allowed us to confirm the AC of 1 in an independent way.