A New method for simultaneous qualitative and quantitative determination of amlodipine besylate and atorvastatin calcium in bulk and pharmaceutical formulations using transmission FT-IR spectroscopy

A simple, precise, rapid, and eco-friendly FTIR spectrophotometric method was developed and validated for simultaneous analysis of amlodipine (AML) and atorvastatin (ATV) in drug combination preparations. Firstly, synthetic mixtures were made and scanned with FTIR instrument. Then the result spectra were converted automatically to absorbance spectra. The calibration model was made depending on Beer's law which relates concentration to absorbance. Two characteristic bands corresponding to the carbonyl group at 1708-1688 cm^-1 and 1660-1632 cm^-1 for AML and ATV, respectively, were selected for quantification. The absorbance of a series of standards was measured as the AUC of the chosen bands. Then, the calibration line was obtained by plotting the measured AUCs and the actual concentrations against each other. Validation tests were performed per ICH recommendations. Specificity was evaluated by the separation of APIs and excipients from marketed preparations by methanol. Then, the spectra of extracted excipients, APIs, and pharmaceutical samples were taken and overlapped. The selected peaks were specific and did not interfere with each other or other peaks from the excipients used in the tablet's matrix. Linearity for AML and ATV was in the range of 0.1-1% w/w with excellent coefficients of determination (R²), 0.998 and 0.999 for AML and ATV, respectively. The proposed analytical method was accurate and precious, as the RSD values were less than 2%. The proposed FTIR method was successfully applied to estimate the exact quantity of APIs in pharmaceutical samples. Recoveries were accepted in accordance with USP and were in the range of 94.62-100.6% and 98.175-101.06% for AML and ATV, respectively. Likewise, the acquired results were compared with the HPLC method. And the t- and F- tests were calculated and compared with the theoretical values, which indicate the similarity of results in both developed and reported methods.

Experimental investigation for treating ibuprofen and triclosan by biosurfactant from domestic wastewater

The presence of emerging pollutants of pharmaceutical products and personal care products (PPCPs) in the aquatic environment overspreads the threat on living beings. Bioremediation is a promising option for treating wastewater. In the present study, an experimental investigation was carried out to produce a biosurfactant by Pseudomonas aeruginosa (MTCC 1688) for the removal of Ibuprofen (IBU) and Triclosan (TCS) from domestic wastewater. It was performed in three stages. Firstly, the production and optimization of biosurfactant was carried out to arrive at the best combination of crude sunflower oil, sucrose and ammonium bicarbonate (10%: 5.5 g/L: 1 g/L) to yield effective biosurfactant production (crude biosurfactant) and further extended to achieve critical micelle concentration (CMC) formation by dilution (biosurfactant at 10.5%). The stability of the biosurfactant was also confirmed. Biosurfactant showed a reduction in the surface tension to 41 mN/m with a yield concentration of 11.2 g/L. Secondly, its effectiveness was evaluated for the removal of IBU and TCS from the domestic wastewater collected during the dry and rainy seasons. Complete removal of IBU was achieved at 36 h & 6 h and TCS at 6 h & 1 h by crude biosurfactant and biosurfactant at CMC formation for the dry season sample. IBU removal was achieved in 2 h by both crude and biosurfactant at CMC and no TCS was detected in the rainy season sample. Thirdly, biotransformation intermediates of IBU and TCS formed during the application of the biosurfactant and degradation pathways are proposed based on the Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS) and it indicates that there is no formation of toxic by-products. Based on the results, it is evident that biosurfactant at CMC has performed better for the removal of IBU and TCS than crude biosurfactants without any formation of toxic intermediates. Hence, this study proved to be an eco-friendly, cost-effective and sustainable treatment option for domestic wastewater treatment.

Three smart spectrophotometric methods for resolution of severely overlapped binary mixture of Ibuprofen and Paracetamol in pharmaceutical dosage form

Paracetamol is an analgesic-antipyretic drug and Ibuprofen is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug. They are co-formulated as tablets to improve analgesia, to simplify prescribing and to improve patient compliance. Three accurate, simple and sensitive spectrophotometric methods were developed for the simultaneous determination of Paracetamol and Ibuprofen in their co-formulated dosage form. The first method was the ratio difference, which was based on the measurement of the difference in absorbance between the two wavelengths (210.6 and 216.4 nm) for Ibuprofen and (236.0 and 248.0 nm) for Paracetamol. The second method was constant center method which depends on using the constant found in the ratio spectra. The third method was the mean centering of ratio spectra which measured the manipulated values at 240 nm and 237 nm for Ibuprofen and Paracetamol, respectively. Beer’s law was obeyed in the concentration range of 2–50 μg/mL for Ibuprofen and 2–20 μg/mL for Paracetamol. The recovery % of the accuracy of both methods ranged from 99.64 to 100.56%. Factors affecting the resolution of the spectra were studied and optimized. The three methods are validated according to ICH guidelines and could be applied for the pharmaceutical preparation.

A rapid Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic method for analysis of certain proton pump inhibitors in binary and ternary mixtures

A simple and non-destructive FTIR method was used to determine certain proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) in binary and ternary mixtures. Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs); omeprazole (OMZ), esomeprazole (EZM), lansoprazole (LAN), pantoprazole sodium (PAN sodium) and rabeprazole sodium (RAB sodium) in binary mixture with domperidone (DOM) and ternary mixture of OMZ, clarithromycin (CLM) and tinidazole (TNZ) were determined in the solid-state by FTIR spectroscopy for the first time. The method was validated according to ICH-guidelines where linearity was ranged from 20 to 850μg/g and 20-360μg/g for PPIs and DOM, respectively in binary mixtures and 10-400, 100-8000 and 150-14,000μg/g for OMZ, CLM and TNZ, respectively. Limits of detection were found to be 6-100 and 9-100μg/g for PPIs and DOM, respectively and 4, 40 and 50μg/g for OMZ, CLM and TNZ, respectively. The method was applied successfully for determination of the cited drugs in their respective pharmaceutical dosage forms.

Simultaneous quantitative determination of paracetamol and tramadol in tablet formulation using UV spectrophotometry and chemometric methods

The UV spectrophotometric methods for simultaneous quantitative determination of paracetamol and tramadol in paracetamol-tramadol tablets were developed. The spectrophotometric data obtained were processed by means of partial least squares (PLS) and genetic algorithm coupled with PLS (GA-PLS) methods in order to determine the content of active substances in the tablets. The results gained by chemometric processing of the spectroscopic data were statistically compared with those obtained by means of validated ultra-high performance liquid chromatographic (UHPLC) method. The accuracy and precision of data obtained by the developed chemometric models were verified by analysing the synthetic mixture of drugs, and by calculating recovery as well as relative standard error (RSE). A statistically good agreement was found between the amounts of paracetamol determined using PLS and GA-PLS algorithms, and that obtained by UHPLC analysis, whereas for tramadol GA-PLS results were proven to be more reliable compared to those of PLS. The simplest and the most accurate and precise models were constructed by using the PLS method for paracetamol (mean recovery 99.5%, RSE 0.89%) and the GA-PLS method for tramadol (mean recovery 99.4%, RSE 1.69%).

Examining drug hydrophobicity in continuous wet granulation within a twin screw extruder

The influence of active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) hydrophobicity on continuous wet granulation was studied in twin screw granulation utilizing foamed binder delivery. The APIs examined were caffeine, acetaminophen, ibuprofen and griseofulvin and the drug load was maintained constant at 15 wt%. In order to understand the impact of these APIs on the granulation process, API and binder distribution, particle size, porosity, and fracture strength were analyzed on samples collected along the screw length. It was found that the API and binder distributions were uniform along the screws regardless of the hydrophobicity of the formulation, in contrast to literature results with liquid injection. The absence of de-mixing of the hydrophobic ingredient was hypothesized to be a result of the high spread-to-soak ratio of a foamed binder that 'cages' those particles within the mass of local hydrophilic solids.

Transmission FTIR derivative spectroscopy for estimation of furosemide in raw material and tablet dosage form

A Fourier transform infrared derivative spectroscopy (FTIR-DS) method has been developed for determining furosemide (FUR) in pharmaceutical solid dosage form. The method involves the extraction of FUR from tablets with N,N-dimethylformamide by sonication and direct measurement in liquid phase mode using a reduced path length cell. In general, the spectra were measured in transmission mode and the equipment was configured to collect a spectrum at 4 cm⁻¹ resolution and a 13 s collection time (10 scans co-added). The spectra were collected between 1400 cm⁻¹ and 450 cm⁻¹. Derivative spectroscopy was used for data processing and quantitative measurement using the peak area of the second order spectrum of the major spectral band found at 1165 cm⁻¹ (SO₂ stretching of FUR) with baseline correction. The method fulfilled most validation requirements in the 2 mg/mL and 20 mg/mL range, with a 0.9998 coefficient of determination obtained by simple calibration model, and a general coefficient of variation <2%. The mean recovery for the proposed assay method resulted within the (100±3)% over the 80%–120% range of the target concentration. The results agree with a pharmacopoeial method and, therefore, could be considered interchangeable.