Assay Development in Stability Test Methods

Abstract

Stability-indicating analytical methods are developed to monitor the stability of pharmaceutical dosage forms during the investigational phase of drug development, and, once the drug is marketed, for the ongoing stability studies which must be conducted. The development of these methods for pharmaceutical dosage forms forms can be approached from several avenues. Methods can be developed which measure the amount of drug remaining, the amount of drug lost (or the appearance of degradation products), or both. Traditionally, the analytical methods used to monitor the stability of dosage forms have involved a generally non-specific spectrophotometric or titrimetric procedure for the assay of the active coupled with thin layer chromatography for the estimation of impurities and degradation products. In the last five years, this approach has changed dramatically. Currently, the method of choice for the quantitation of the active and degradation products is rapidly becoming high performance liquid chromatography. This method has obvious advantages since it both separates and measures and it lends itself well to automation. The disadvantages are that, in the absence of automation, the technique can be time-consuming, it is by no means universal, and it is relatively expensive. Recent advances in column technology have reduced some separation times to seconds and, in the next few years, this technique may find even greater utility. HPLC, however, is not the only way to go. Other chromatographic methods still find a place, particularly gas chromatography when the stability of the component of interest does not pose a problem and thin layer chromatography for the rapid determination of degradation products. Other methods may also be used, including electrometric, e.g., polarography, and spectrophotometric, e.g., fluorimetry or NMR. The choice of an appropriate method must depend on both a scientific and practical evaluation of the drug and its dosage form. Once an analytical method is chosen, the most important aspect of the development of a stability-indicating procedure is method validation. Validation should include evaluation of the following parameters: specificity, linearity, precision, accuracy, sensitivity, and ruggedness. There are many other aspects to stability that could also be considered, e.g., the stability of the bulk drug and physical and organoleptic changes in a dosage form. These should be part of a separate discussion. It very often happens that, during the course of product development, analytical methods evolve. As more is learned about the drug and its dosage form, methods can be refined and revised.