Eco-Friendly Green Liquid Chromatographic Determination of Azelastine in the Presence of its Degradation Products: Applications to Degradation Kinetics

Abstract

Abstract Background: Green solvents such as microemulsion were used in the proposed method because they play a vital role in the analytical method’s influence on the environment. Objective: A highly sensitive, specific, and validated stability-indicating eco-friendly green microemulsion liquid chromatography (MELC) method was developed for separation of the antihistaminic drug Azelastine HCl (AZL) from its degradation products with application to degradation kinetics. Methods: Chromatographic separation was operated on a C18 column with a microemulsion mobile phase, which consists of 0.1 M sodium dodecyl sulphate, 10% n-propanol, 1% n-octanol, and 0.3% triethylamine, by using 0.02 M phosphoric acid at pH 3.5 and irbesartan as internal standard. The eluted compounds were monitored at 210 nm with flow rate 1 mL/min at ambient temperature. Results: A linear dependence of the peak area on drug concentration over the concentration range of 0.1 to 25 μg/mL was achieved with an LOD of 0.04 μg/mL and an LOQ of 0.10 μg/mL. Moreover, the proposed method was successfully applied for determination of AZL in eye drops and metered dose nasal inhaler as well as to study the kinetics of alkaline, acidic, neutral, oxidative, and photolytic degradation processes of AZL according to the International Council for Harmonization guidelines. Conclusions: The proposed method could be used as a harmless alternative for quality control analysis of the mentioned drug, without interference from dosage form additives or decomposition products. Highlights: A highly sensitive stability-indicating eco-friendly green MELC method was developed for the separation of the antihistaminic drug AZL from its degradation products.