Critical Peak Pairs Research Articles

Development, stability-Indicating assessment, and evaluation of influential method conditions using a full factorial design for the determination of Nintedanib Esylate related impurities.

The design of an appropriate analytical method for assessing the quality of pharmaceuticals requires a deep understanding of science, and risk evaluation approaches are appreciated. The current study discusses how a related substance method was developed for Nintedanib esylate. The best possible separation between the critical peak pairs was achieved using an X-Select CSH Phenyl Hexyl (150 × 4.6) mm, 3.5 μm column. A mixture of water, acetonitrile, and methanol in mobile phase-A (70:20:10) and mobile phase-B (20:70:10), with 0.1% trifluoroacetic acid and 0.05% formic acid in both eluents. The set flow rate, wavelength, and injection volumes were 1.0 mL/min, 285 nm, and 5 μL, respectively, with gradient elution. The method conditions were validated as per regulatory requirements and United States Pharmacopeia general chapter <1225>. The correlation coefficient for all impurities from the linearity experiment was found to be >0.999. The % relative standard deviation from the precision experiments ranged from 0.4 to 3.6. The mean % recovery from the accuracy study ranged from 92.5 to 106.5. Demonstrated the power of the stability-indicating method through degradation studies; the active drug component is more vulnerable to oxidation than other conditions. Final method conditions were further evaluated using a full-factorial design. The robust method conditions were identified using the graphical optimization from the design space. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Simplification of pharmacopoeial liquid chromatography methods for related substances of statins by hyphenated ultraviolet and charged aerosol detection

For a more comprehensive characterization of a drug substance and its impurities, multidetector approaches are a helpful tool in liquid chromatography. In particular, the relatively inexpensive hyphenation of the ultraviolet (UV) with the charged aerosol detector (CAD) extends the scope from UV-active to non- or weak chromophore analytes, respectively. In this study, the chromatographic methods of the test for related substances of simvastatin and lovastatin in the European Pharmacopoeia were adapted to UV-CAD and thus allowing a more sophisticated detection of the weak chromophore dihydro impurity besides the other UV-active impurities. The compendial gradient program for simvastatin had to be modified (lowered initial acetonitrile percentage and increased gradient slope) because an additional critical peak pair emerged with the Hypersil C18 BDS column used here. Therefore, a Plackett-Burman design with 11 factors (including 4 dummy factors) was chosen to evaluate robustness of the adapted method. The flow rate, initial acetonitrile percentage, and column temperature were identified as three critical parameters that had to be carefully observed. Finally, the validity of the method for simultaneous detection of dihydrosimvastatin with CAD and of lovastatin and simvastatin as examples of UV detection was verified according to ICH Q2 (R1). In the case of lovastatin, the direct comparison with the pharmacopoeial method reveal that a determination with CAD is the more sensitive method.

Optimization of chromatographic separation of aripiprazole and impurities: Quantitative structure-retention relationship approach

A new optimization strategy based on the mixed quantitative structure? retention relationship (QSRR) model is proposed for improving the RPHPLC separation of aripiprazole and its impurities (IMP A-E). Firstly, experimental parameters (EPs), namely mobile phase composition and flow rate, were varied according to Box?Behnken design and thereafter, an artificial neural network (ANN) as a QSRR model was built correlating EPs and selected molecular descriptors (ovality, torsion energy and non-1,4-van der Waals energy) with the log-transformed retention times of the analytes. Values of the root mean square error (RMSE) were used for an estimation of the quality of the ANNs (0.0227, 0.0191 and 0.0230 for the training, verification and test set, respectively). The separations of critical peak pairs on chromatogram (IMP AB and IMP D-C) were optimized using ANNs for which the EPs served as inputs and the log-transformed separation criteria s as the outputs. They were validated by application of leave-one-out cross-validation (RMSE values 0.065 and 0.056, respectively). The obtained ANNs were used for plotting response surfaces upon which the analyses chromatographic conditions resulting in optimal analytes retention behaviour and the optimal values of the separation criteria s were defined. The optimal conditions were 54 % of methanol at the beginning and 79 % of methanol at the end of gradient elution programme with a mobile phase flow rate of 460 ?L min-1.

Generic approach in a gradient elution HPLC method development that enables troubleshooting free method transfer

Nowadays, method development is strongly focused on reducing time needed for method development and execution. This subject specially concerns gradient elution methods regarding the usual need for troubleshooting assistance with uncertain outcome during the method transfer from one laboratory to another. One of the main reasons for this situation is the dwell volume difference between HPLC systems. Therefore, the aim of this study was to propose a novel method development methodology that would integrate the dwell volumes differences in the optimization process. The proposed approach could be quite useful in industry that has insight in HPLC instruments planned to be used during the method life cycle. It was tested on the model mixture consisting of dabigatran etexilate mesylate and its nine impurities by use of experimental design methodology. Three different (U)HPLC instruments with high dwell volume differences were selected to challenge the methodology. Plan of experiments was defined with Plackett-Burman design for screening phase and D-optimal design for optimization phase. Initial and final amount of organic modifier, time of the gradient elution and pH value of the aqueous phase were selected as variables significant for the gradient programme profile and included in the optimization stage along with dwell volume values. The separation criteria s between critical peak pairs was selected as output for method optimization while indirect modelling together with Monte Carlo simulations enabled selection of optimal and robust chromatographic conditions. They included 24% (v/v) of initial amount of acetonitrile, 54% (v/v) of the final amount of acetonitrile, 15 min of gradient elution run time and pH value equal to 4.9. The proposed method was successfully validated, met all validation criteria and thus proved its utility.

Robust optimization of gradient RP HPLC method for simultaneous determination of ivabradine and its eleven related substances by AQbD approach

Abstract This paper is aimed at developing a gradient elution reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) method for the separation of a complex mixture composed of ivabradine and its eleven impurities, in a reasonable timeframe. In order to obtain a robust and reliable HPLC method for separation of this mixture, Analytical Quality by Design (AQbD) was applied. This approach demonstrated to be useful in development of a long lasting life cycle methods. Four chromatographic variables were defined as key method parameters (KMPs) and optimized towards the analytical target profile (ATP). Designated KMPs were initial and final amount of acetonitrile in the mobile phase, pH value of the aqueous phase and gradient time, while resolutions of critical peak pairs were denoted as critical method attributes (CMAs). Relationships between KMPs and CMAs were obtained with the aid of Design of Experiments (DoEs) methodology among which Box-Behnken design (BBD) was employed to gain valid mathematical models. Obtained mathematical equations were used to construct the Design Space (DS) and select reliable optimal separation conditions. They included 11% (v/v) and 34% (v/v) of initial and final amount of acetonitrile, respectively, as well as 45 min of gradient elution time and 20 mM ammonium acetate as aqueous mobile phase with pH set to 7.35. The possibility to separate the diastereoisomers of impurity X was also evaluated. It was demonstrated that this separation could not be achieved in gradient elution mode within the defined variable domains and in a reasonable time span. The developed method was validated according to ICH Q2 (R1) guideline and met all the required criteria.

Development and Validation of an LC-MS/MS Based Method for the Determination of Deoxynivalenol and Its Modified Forms in Maize.

The Fusarium mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON) is a common contaminant of cereals and is often co-occurring with its modified forms DON-3-glucoside (D3G), 3-acetyl-DON (3ADON) or 15-acetyl-DON (15ADON). A stable-isotope dilution liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) based method for their determination in cereals was developed and validated for maize. Therefore, 13C-labelled D3G was enzymatically produced using 13C-DON and [13C6Glc]-sucrose and used as an internal standard (IS) for D3G, while uniformly 13C labelled IS was used for the other mycotoxins. Baseline separation was achieved for the critical peak pair DON/D3G, while 3ADON/15ADON could not be fully baseline separated after testing various reversed phase, fluorinated phase and chiral LC columns. After grinding, weighing and extracting the cereal samples, the raw extract was centrifuged and a mixture of the four 13C-labelled ISs was added directly in a microinsert vial. The subsequent analytical run took 7 min, followed by negative electrospray ionization and selected reaction monitoring on a triple quadrupole MS. Maize was used as a complex cereal model matrix for validation. The use of the IS corrected the occurring matrix effects efficiently from 76 to 98% for D3G, from 86 to 103% for DON, from 68 to 100% for 15ADON and from 63 to 96% for 3ADON.

Negative gradient slope methods to improve the separation of closely eluting proteins

In the present work, we describe the fundamental and practical advantages of a new strategy to improve the resolution of very closely eluting peaks within therapeutic protein samples.This approach involves the use of multiple isocratic steps, together with the addition of a steep negative gradient segment (with a decrease in mobile phase strength) to "park" a slightly more retained peak somewhere along the column (at a given migration distance), while a slightly less retained compound can be eluted.First, some model calculations were performed to highlight the potential of this innovative approach. For this purpose, the retention parameters (logk0 and S) for two case studies were considered, namely the analysis of a mixture of two therapeutic mAbs (simple to resolve sample) and separation of a therapeutic mAb from its main variant (challenging to resolve sample). The results confirm that the insertion of a negative segment into a multi-isocratic elution program can be a good tool to improve selectivity between critical peak pairs. However, it is also important to keep in mind that this approach only works with large solutes, which more or less follow an “on-off” type elution behavior.Two real applications were successfully developed to illustrate the practical advantage of this new approach, including the separation of a therapeutic mAb from its main variant possessing very close elution behavior, and the separation of a carrier protein from an intact mAb as might be encountered in a quantitative bioanalysis assay. These two examples demonstrate that improved selectivity can be achieved for protein RPLC through the inclusion of a negative gradient slope that selectively bifurcates the elution of two or more peaks of interest.

Chemometrically assisted RP-HPLC method development for efficient separation of ivabradine and its eleven impurities

The aim of this study was to develop a novel reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) method for efficient separation of ivabradine and its 11 impurities. Similar polarity of impurities in the sample mixture made method optimization challenging and accomplishable only when different chemometric tools, such as principal component analysis (PCA), Box–Behnken design (BBD), and desirability function as a multicriteria approach, were employed. The presence of 3 positional isomers (impurities III, V, and VI), keto–enol tautomerism of impurity VII, and diastereoisomers of impurity X made separation of this complex mixture even more challenging. Chromatographic retention parameters obtained with the mobile phase consisting of 30 mM phosphate buffer and acetonitrile (80:20, v/v) on four different RP-HPLC columns at varying pH values (3.0, 4.0, and 5.0) were subjected to the PCA analysis to select the column with the most appropriate selectivity. Then the column temperature, pH of the aqueous component of mobile phase, phosphate buffer molarity and the organic solvent content in the mobile phase were estimated employing BBD. Valid and reliable mathematical models towards resolution of twelve critical peak pairs were obtained. After determination of the desirability making criteria for all responses, desirability functions were established and used in optimization. The proposed optimal chromatographic conditions included the Zorbax Eclipse Plus C18 chromatographic column (100 × 4.6 mm, 3.5 μm), the column temperature of 34 °C, the mobile phase flow rate of 1.6 mL min−1 and the UV detection at 220 nm. The mobile phase consisted of the 28 mM phosphate buffer at pH 6.0 and acetonitrile (85:15, v/v). Separation of one pair of positional isomers was not achieved, so methanol was added to the organic part of mobile phase in small increments with the optimal ratio of methanol to acetonitrile 59:41, v/v. The overall organic component of the mobile phase also increased to 18%, accelerating the chromatographic analysis.

Haotropni efekat trifluorosirćetne i perhlorne kiseline na formiranje inkluzionih kompleksa između B-ciklodekstrina i risperidona, olanzapina i njihovih srodnih supstanci

Effective method development together with method`s eco-friendly character are gaining importance in drug analyses nowadays. One of the strategies often applied to improve the efficacy of separation methods, especially in the case of basic ionizable analytes is adding chaotropic salts into the mobile phases. Moreover, the development of the green liquid chromatography method could also be achieved with certain mobile phase additives such as cyclodextrin (CD). The study aims to investigate whether adding chaotropic agents could improve the complexation process by disrupting the analytes' water solvation shell. The model mixture consisted of risperidone, olanzapine, and their related impurities. Method development was aided with experimental design methodology, while optimal separation conditions were selected using Derringer's desirability function. Mathematical models obtained for each of the examined responses enabled the explanation of the single and simultaneous influence of b-CD concentration, chaotropic agents type, and content, as well as the content of acetonitrile in the mobile phase. Retention factors appeared to be the most influenced by acetonitrile content in the mobile phase. The type of chaotropic agent as well as its concentration lead to retention prolongation, but if acetonitrile content in the mobile phase is high, the effect of chaotropic agent becomes negligible. Interaction between analyte and b-CD are relatively weak in comparison to the interaction of analyte form with either chaotropic agent or acetonitrile. Interaction leading to complexation are outperformed by other analyte related interactions in this complicated system, so complexation based retention reduction is not fully exposed. However, increasing b-CD concentration shows a positive effect on the resolution between critical peak pairs. Optimal separation conditions were selected based on 3D plots of Derringer's desirability function. For olanzapine and its impurity, they included the following: acetonitrile content 16% (v/v), trifluoroacetic acid as a chaotropic agent with 0.95% (v/v) content, and 9 mM b-CD concentration. Further, optimal separation conditions for risperidone and its impurity were 25% (v/v) acetonitrile content in the mobile phase, trifluoroacetic acid as chaotrope agent with 0.27% (v/v) content and 5mM b-CD concentration.

Application of analytical quality by design principles for the determination of alkyl p-toluenesulfonates impurities in Aprepitant by HPLC. Validation using total-error concept

In the research presented we report the development of a simple and robust liquid chromatographic method for the quantification of two genotoxic alkyl sulphonate impurities (namely methyl p-toluenesulfonate and isopropyl p-toluenesulfonate) in Aprepitant API substances using the Analytical Quality by Design (AQbD) approach. Following the steps of AQbD protocol, the selected critical method attributes (CMAs) were the separation criterions between the critical peak pairs, the analysis time and the peak efficiencies of the analytes. The critical method parameters (CMPs) included the flow rate, the gradient slope and the acetonitrile content at the first step of the gradient elution program. Multivariate experimental designs namely Plackett-Burman and Box-Behnken designs were conducted sequentially for factor screening and optimization of the method parameters. The optimal separation conditions were estimated using the desirability function.The method was fully validated in the range of 10–200% of the target concentration limit of the analytes using the “total error” approach. Accuracy profiles − a graphical decision making tool − were constructed using the results of the validation procedures. The β-expectation tolerance intervals did not exceed the acceptance criteria of±10%, meaning that 95% of future results will be included in the defined bias limits. The relative bias ranged between − 1.3–3.8% for both analytes, while the RSD values for repeatability and intermediate precision were less than 1.9% in all cases. The achieved limit of detection (LOD) and the limit of quantification (LOQ) were adequate for the specific purpose and found to be 0.02% (corresponding to 48μgg−1 in sample) for both methyl and isopropyl p-toluenesulfonate. As proof-of-concept, the validated method was successfully applied in the analysis of several Aprepitant batches indicating that this methodology could be used for routine quality control analyses.

Analysis of potential genotoxic impurities in rabeprazole active pharmaceutical ingredient via Liquid Chromatography-tandem Mass Spectrometry, following quality-by-design principles for method development

A novel Liquid Chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) method is presented for the quantitative determination of two potential genotoxic impurities (PGIs) in rabeprazole active pharmaceutical ingredient (API). In order to overcome the analytical challenges in the trace analysis of PGIs, a development procedure supported by Quality-by-Design (QbD) principles was evaluated. The efficient separation between rabeprazole and the two PGIs in the shortest analysis time was set as the defined analytical target profile (ATP) and to this purpose utilization of a switching valve allowed the flow to be sent to waste when rabeprazole was eluted. The selected critical quality attributes (CQAs) were the separation criterion s between the critical peak pair and the capacity factor k of the last eluted compound. The effect of the following critical process parameters (CPPs) on the CQAs was studied: %ACN content, the pH and the concentration of the buffer salt in the mobile phase, as well as the stationary phase of the analytical column. D-Optimal design was implemented to set the plan of experiments with UV detector. In order to define the design space, Monte Carlo simulations with 5000 iterations were performed. Acceptance criteria were met for C8 column (50×4mm, 5μm), and the region having probability π≥95% to achieve satisfactory values of all defined CQAs was computed. The working point was selected with the mobile phase consisting ‎of ACN, ammonium formate 11mM at a ratio 31/69v/v with pH=6,8 for the water phase. The LC protocol was transferred to LC–MS/MS and validated according to ICH guidelines.

Beaming steviol glycoside analysis into the next dimension

Nine state-of-the-art reversed phase (RP) columns for ultra-high performance liquid chromatography were tested for the separation of steviol glycosides. The main criteria were resolution of the critical peak pair rebaudioside A and stevioside and the retention time of rebaudioside D. Three columns yielded a resolution of 2 or more of the critical peak pair and two of them showed sufficient retention of rebaudioside D, namely 1.62 and 1.84min corresponding to retention factors of 0.98 and 1.24. The separation of nine steviol glycosides was possible in 11min with UV and MS compatible, buffer-free eluents at moderate temperature. The presented method is proposed to be adopted as a new official method.

Forced Degradation Studies of Candesartan Cilexetil and Hydrochlorothiazide Using a Validated Stability-Indicating HPLC-UV Method

Forced degradation studies of candesartan cilexetil (CCX) and hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) were performed by using stressed drugs under acid, alkaline, and neutral hydrolysis; oxidation; photolysis; and thermal degradation conditions. A simple and specific method of high-performance liquid chromatography with UV detection was developed for simultaneous determination of CCX, HCTZ, and their degradation products. Optimum conditions were achieved with a running buffer mixture of acetonitrile and 10 mM phosphate buffer (pH 7.0; 32 : 68, v/v) at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min using a Zorbax stable-bond cyano (SB CN) column (4.6 × 150 mm, 5 μm), 25°C column temperature, and 254 nm UV detection wavelength. This method was validated for linearity, range, accuracy, precision, and specificity according to International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) guidelines. All figures of merit for method validation are acceptable. The method proved to be stability-indicating because it also analyzed drugs in the presence of their degradation products with a resolution of the critical peak pair at least 1.5 and peak purity values greater than 990. CCX was stable under neutral hydrolysis, photolysis, and thermal degradation conditions but degraded under acid and alkaline hydrolysis and oxidation conditions. HCTZ was stable under oxidation, photolysis, and thermal degradation conditions but degraded under neutral, acid, and alkaline hydrolysis conditions.

Mass Spectrometric Coverage of Complex Mixtures: Exploring the Carbon Space of Crude Oil

AbstractMass spectrometry is a powerful tool to investigate complex reactions in complex matrices such as crude oils. However, certain requirements have to be met. Apart from a good instrument sensitivity and mass measurement accuracy, especially a certain minimum mass resolving power of above 500,000 at m/z 1000 needs to be reached to resolve critical peak pairs. If the desired parameters are met, a good coverage of the full compositional space or “carbon space” can be achieved to allow a comprehensive picture of the sample at hand. Here, the performance of a newly introduced High‐field Fourier Transform Orbitrap setup with nominal resolving power of 960,000 at m/z 400 is tested against the demands.

A practical approach for predicting retention time shifts due to pressure and temperature gradients in ultra-high-pressure liquid chromatography

Large pressure gradients are generated in ultra-high-pressure liquid chromatography (UHPLC) using sub–2μm particles causing significant temperature gradients over the column due to viscous heating. These pressure and temperature gradients affect retention and ultimately result in important selectivity shifts. In this study, we developed an approach for predicting the retention time shifts due to these gradients. The approach is presented as a step-by-step procedure and it is based on empirical linear relationships describing how retention varies as a function of temperature and pressure and how the average column temperature increases with the flow rate. It requires only four experiments on standard equipment, is based on straightforward calculations, and is therefore easy to use in method development. The approach was rigorously validated against experimental data obtained with a quality control method for the active pharmaceutical ingredient omeprazole. The accuracy of retention time predictions was very good with relative errors always less than 1% and in many cases around 0.5% (n=32). Selectivity shifts observed between omeprazole and the related impurities when changing the flow rate could also be accurately predicted resulting in good estimates of the resolution between critical peak pairs. The approximations which the presented approach are based on were all justified. The retention factor as a function of pressure and temperature was studied in an experimental design while the temperature distribution in the column was obtained by solving the fundamental heat and mass balance equations for the different experimental conditions. We strongly believe that this approach is sufficiently accurate and experimentally feasible for this separation to be a valuable tool when developing a UHPLC method. After further validation with other separation systems, it could become a useful approach in UHPLC method development, especially in the pharmaceutical industry where demands are high for robustness and regulatory oversight.

Selecting optimal columns for clarithromycin impurity analysis according to the quantitative relationship of hydrophobic subtraction model

Hydrophobic subtraction model (HSM) is widely applied to select columns of equivalent or different selectivity compared with a reference column, but its application in identifying optimal columns for specific separations of real samples is rare. In this work, a column selection method was proposed by firstly directly correlating separation selectivity of different pairs of solutes to column parameters based on the quantitative relationship of HSM and then selecting the optimal columns according to the predicted selectivity in consideration of the total separation of all critical pairs of solutes. Three critical pairs of solutes in clarithromycin impurity analysis were evaluated as examples. Starting with the analysis of clarithromycin impurities on 15 columns with different selectivities, ten optimal columns were finally identified for clarithromycin impurity analysis from the HSM column characterization database containing nearly 600 columns and two of them were validated with satisfactory separations for all critical peak pairs. The proposed methodology was also compared to the traditional column selection procedure based on calculations of scalar measures of the Euclidean distance between chromatographic columns. Results showed that our method provides an effective way to find the desired columns that may be overlooked by the traditional column selection due to selection of an inappropriate reference column or overestimation of column similarity, such as Fs introduced in HSM.

Hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry for cinnamic acid determination and its use to evaluate components of dried hot peppers (Capsicum annum ) associated with growth inhibition of Salmonella enterica serovars

A rapid and selective hydrophilic interaction chromatography-mass spectrometry (HILIC-MS) method was developed to measure cinnamic acids in dried chili peppers (Capsicum annum) for the purpose of investigating the association between cinnamic acid levels and inhibition of Salmonella growth in the peppers. Trans-cinnamic and hydroxy-cinnamic acids were quantified in 15 varieties of chili peppers by the HILIC-MS method, using electrospray ionization in negative mode with multiple reaction monitoring for detection. Trans-cinnamic acid and 4-OH-cinnamic acid were found in all samples; highest concentrations were 0.81 and 7.15 ppm, respectively. The compound, 2-OH-cinnamic acid was not detected. Mean recoveries of the target compounds from spiked samples were greater than 79%. The pepper samples were evaluated for Salmonella growth inhibition after addition of moisture to the dried samples. No correlation was found between Salmonella growth inhibition and cinnamic acid content, suggesting that these cinnamic acids are not major inhibitory compounds in these peppers. Practical applications The HILIC-MS method developed for the analysis of dried chili peppers is a simple, sensitive method for organic acids and is applicable to any food matrix. Only extraction and automated filtration are employed to produce extracts for analysis. Ammonium formate buffer in the mobile phase, pH 6, enhances ionization of acids for negative ESI-MS detection relative to the degree of ionization from use of acidic mobile phases containing formic or acetic acid modifiers. The use of 4-Cl-benzoic acid as internal standard and evaluation of matrix effects from the dried pepper extracts are important for future research in similar applications. The HILIC chromatographic separation may separate critical peak pairs in pepper extracts that are not resolvable by reversed-phase HPLC.

Systematic Robustness Testing of a Liquid Chromatographic Method: A Case Study.

Robustness testing of a method plays a crucial role in establishing its reliability. It examines the potential sources of variability in one or more responses of the proposed method. In this study, the robustness testing of a method proposed for simultaneous determination of warfarin and its two process related impurities was evaluated by using two level, fractional factorial design. Factors that are sensitive to a variation during method transfer were selected as independent variables [aqueous content (range: 39-43%, v/v), concentration of acetic acid (range: 0.08-0.12%, v/v), flow rate (range: 0.93-1.33 mL/min), and wavelength (range: 218-222 nm)]. Variables that determine the quality of separation, viz., retention factor of the first peak, resolution between the critical peak pair, tailing factor of warfarin, and total analysis time were selected as responses. Robustness was assessed by graphical (half normal probability and Pareto plots) and statistical (analysis of variance) methods. It was found that, among the studied variables, aqueous content had a significant effect on capacity factor and analysis time. Furthermore, non-significant intervals for significant factors were established by contour profiling. This study demonstrated the significance of experimental design and other statistical tools in understanding the effects of investigating factors of the chromatographic system and in defining their limits.

Selectivity screening and subsequent data evaluation strategies in liquid chromatography: the example of 12 antineoplastic drugs.

Optimization of the chromatographic selectivity is the most important parameter if a separation is needed for the hyphenation of liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry. In mass spectrometry, this is necessary if the investigated analytes have identical mass transitions, like isomers or epimers. For the separation of the 12 most important antineoplastic drugs, a selectivity screening was performed using 20 columns and two organic modifiers and temperatures to find a suitable phase system in order to separate critical peak pairs. Therefore, an evaluation strategy was applied in form of a principal component analysis (PCA), selectivity factor, and overall selectivity comparison to find a suitable phase system. Some boundary conditions were defined to consider the specific requirements of tandem mass spectrometry. The results clearly indicated that the selectivity factor of the critical peak pairs increased using methanol at higher temperature.

Development of liquid chromatographic method for the analysis of dabigatran etexilate mesilate and its ten impurities supported by quality-by-design methodology

In this paper, the development of reversed-phase liquid chromatographic method for the analysis of dabigatran etexilate mesilate and its ten impurities supported by quality by design (QbD) approach is presented. The defined analytical target profile (ATP) was the efficient baseline separation and the accurate determination of the investigated analytes. The selected critical quality attributes (CQAs) were the separation criterions between the critical peak pairs because the mixture complexity imposed a gradient elution mode. The critical process parameters (CPPs) studied in this research were acetonitrile content at the beginning of gradient program, acetonitrile content at the end of gradient program and the gradient time. Plan of experiments was defined by Box–Behnken design. The experimental domains of the three selected factors x1 – content of the acetonitrile at the start of linear gradient, x2 – content of the acetonitrile at the end of linear gradient and x3 – gradient time (tG) were [10%, 30%], [48%, 60%] and [8min, 15min], respectively. In order to define the design space (DS) as a zone where the desired quality criteria is met providing also the quality assurance, Monte Carlo simulations were performed. The uniform error distribution equal to the calculated standard error was added to the model coefficient estimates. Monte Carlo simulation included 5000 iterations in each of 3969 defined grid points and the region having the probability π≥95% to achieve satisfactory values of all defined CQAs was computed. As a working point, following chromatographic conditions suited in the middle of the DS were chosen: 22% acetonitrile at the start of gradient program, 55.5% acetonitrile at the end of gradient program end and the gradient time of 11.5min. The developed method was validated in order to prove its reliability.