Development and Validation of Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatography (UPLC) Method for Simultaneous Quantification of Hydrochlorothiazide, Amlodipine Besylate, and Valsartan in Marketed Fixed-Dose Combination Tablet

Abstract

Fixed-dose combination therapy is considered a practical approach in the treatment of various diseases, as it can simultaneously target different mechanisms of action that achieve the required therapeutic efficacy through a synergistic effect. A combination of hydrochlorothiazide (HTZ), amlodipine (AMD), and valsartan (VLS) has been created for the treatment of hypertension. Therefore, the aim of this study was to develop an optimized UPLC method for the simultaneous quantification of this combination. A DoE at a level of 32 was used to investigate the effects of column temperature (20, 30, and 40 °C) and formic acid concentration (0.05, 0.15, and 0.25%) on the retention time of each active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), the peak area, and the peak symmetry, as well as the resolution between HTZ-AMD and AMD-VLS peaks. The optimized analytical method was validated and used to extract the three APIs from the marketed product. The optimized analytical condition with a column temperature of 27.86 °C and a formic acid concentration of 0.172% showed good separation of the three APIs in 1.62 ± 0.006, 3.59 ± 0.002, and 3.94 ± 0.002 min for HTZ, AMD, and VST, respectively. The developed method was linear with the LOQ for a HTC, AMD, and VST of 0.028, 0.038, and 0.101 ppm, respectively. Moreover, the developed assay was sustainable and robust, with an RSD % of less than 2%. The application of this method in the extraction of HTZ, AMD, and VST from the Exforge® marketed product showed good separation with a measurable drug content of 23.5 ± 0.7, 9.68 ± 0.1, and 165.2 ± 5.2 mg compared to the label claims of 25/10/160 for HTZ, AMD, and VST, respectively.