RP-HPLC method validation for fast extraction and quantification of Levonorgestrel drug from silicone based intrauterine device intended for in-process and finished formulation.

Abstract

To develop and validate a simple and consistent reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) method for the estimation of Levonorgestrel (LNG) drug from silicone based intrauterine device. Sample solution was prepared using tetrahydrofuran (THF) as solvent for the drug extraction, and RP-HPLC analysis was performed using Luna C18 analytical column (150 × 4.6mm, 5μm, 100Å - Phenomenex), with a mobile phase consisting of a mixture of acetonitrile and water (50:50, v/v) at a flow rate of 1.0ml/min and injection volume of 20μl. Detection was carried out at 241nm in PDA detector, with a total run time of 15min. The method was validated in accordance with ICH guidelines. Method applicability was tested for optimizing formulation using quality-by-design approach, to check the stability and content uniformity of levonorgestrel-silicone mixture (core blend), and quantifying the amount of LNG from commercially available silicone based formulation. The retention time for LNG drug was obtained at 8.5min (± 0.3min). A linear relationship was observed over the concentration range of 2.6-15.6μg/ml with the correlation coefficient (r) value 0.9999. The method was found to be precise within the acceptable limit (RSD < 2%) and the drug recovery from the intrauterine device was found in the range 99.78-100.0%. Content uniformity for different prototypes developed was observed in the range of 91.6-101.4%, and assay of optimized core blend was in the range of 97.78-106.79% during the 10days of retention period for stability studies. The validated method is found to be a simple, accurate, precise, reproducible, and hence can be used for the routine analysis of LNG such as in-process, quality control and stability assays of silicone based intrauterine devices by RP-HPLC.