Application of gas chromatography analysis to quality control of residual organic solvents in clopidogrel bisulphate

Abstract

A direct-injection, split-mode capillary gas chromatographic procedure with a flame ionization detection is developed for the analysis of eight solvents used in the synthesis and purification of an anti-thrombotic drug clopidogrel bisulphate. The solvents analyzed were methanol, acetone, dichloromethane (DCM), 2-butanol, cyclohexane, toluene, acetic acid and N, N-dimethyl formamide (DMF). In addition, as a result of dehydration of 2-butanol during drying process, in clopidogrel bisulphate samples, significant amounts of 2-butanol dehydration products (1-butene, cis and trans isomers of 2-butene, 2,2'-oxydibutane and 1-(1-methylpropoxy)butane) may be detected. The content of each of these volatile products can be evaluated using the same gas-chromatographic method, with quantification based on the response factor established for the chromatographic peak of 2-butanol. For each solvent used in the process of clopidogrel bisulphate preparation, the procedure is validated for selectivity, linearity, recovery, precision, robustness, quantitation limit, and detection limit. All eight solvents plus five 2-butanol degradation products are fully separated. System suitability test is validated, and requirements are set. Based on a large number of result sets, retrospectively, from many different batches analyzed, conclusions were made about process variations and reliability and a lack of consistency was identified in the quality of the active substance from a particular producer source. Multivariate analysis was used as statistical technique to classify samples. From the analyzed set of 11 solvents, 6 of them were preselected based upon their occurrence in the samples and both Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA) were performed.