Stability Indicating HPTLC Method Development for
Transcription
Stability Indicating HPTLC Method Development for
AASCIT Journal of Chemistry 2015; 2(2): 32-42 Published online April 10, 2015 (http://www.aascit.org/journal/chemistry) Stability Indicating HPTLC Method Development for Determination of Betamethasone and Dexchlorpheniramine Maleate in a Tablet Dosage Form Tadesse Haile Fereja1, *, Ariaya Hymete2, Adnan A. Bekhit2, 3 1 Keywords Betamethasone, Dexchlorpheniramine Maleate, HPTLC, Stability Indicating, Degradation Department of Pharmacy, College of Medicine and Health Science, Ambo University, Ambo, Ethiopia 2 Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 3 Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Alexandria, Alexandria, 21521-Egypt Email address [email protected] (T. H. Fereja), [email protected] (A. Hymete), [email protected] (A. A. Bekhit) Citation Received: February 9, 2015 Revised: March 9, 2015 Accepted: March 10, 2015 Tadesse Haile Fereja, Ariaya Hymete, Adnan A. Bekhit. Stability Indicating HPTLC Method Development for Determination of Betamethasone and Dexchlorpheniramine Maleate in a Tablet Dosage Form. AASCIT Journal of Chemistry. Vol. 2, No. 2, 2015, pp. 32-42. Abstract A simple, specific, precise, accurate, robust and stability-indicating HPTLC method for determination of the two drugs in tablet dosage form was developed and validated. The method employed HPTLC aluminum plates precoated with silica gel 60F- 254 as the stationary phase. The solvent system consisted of ethyl acetate: methanol: ammonia (2 : 13 : 1 v/v/v). This system was found to give compact spots for betamethasone (Rf = 0.32 ± 0.04) and for dexchlorpheniramine maleate (Rf = 0.76 ± 0.05). Densitometric analysis of the drugs was carried out in the absorbance mode at 226 nm. Linearity was found over the concentration range of 25 - 137.5 ng/ul with r2 ± RSD = 0.997 ± 0.00102 for betamethasone and 100 - 800 ng/ul for dexchlorpheniramine maleate with r2 ± RSD = 0.999 ± 0.141, respectively. LOD for the method was found to be 2.49ng and 19.7ng for betamethasone and dexchlorpheniramine maleate, respectively. LOQ was found to be 7.54 ng for betamethasone and 59.70 ng for dexchlorpheniramine maleate. Extra peaks were observed for betamethasone treated with 30% H2O2 (Rf = 0.36), 1N HCl (Rf 0.19, 0.25 and 0.36), 1N NaOH (Rf = 0.36) and thermal condition (Rf 0.26 and 0.36). Dexchlorpheniramine maleate degraded with 30% H2O2 showed additional peak at Rf value of 0.67. Statistical analysis proved that the method is reproducible and selective for the simultaneous estimation of betamethasone and dexchlorpheniramine maleate. As the method could effectively separate the drugs from their degradation products, it can be employed as a stability indicating. 1. Introduction Betamethasone 9 α -fluoro-16 ß -methyl-11 ß, 17 α 21-trihydroxy-1, 4-pregnadiene- 3, 20-dione (Figure 1 a) is a synthetic glucocorticoid that suppress the activity of endogenous mediators of inflammation including prostaglandins, kinins, and histamine [1]. Dexchlorpheniramine maleate (3S)-3-(4-chlorophenyl)-N, N-dimethyl-3-(pyridin-2yl) propan-1-amine (Z)-butanedioate (Figure 1 b) is a potent antihistamine used for the AASCIT Journal of Chemistry 2015; 2(2): 32-42 treatment of several allergies and skin irritation. It readily crosses the blood brain barrier and one of its collateral effects O 33 is the induction of sedation [2]. Cl O OH H H3C CH3 OH OH 20 N 1 CH3 16 H H N O H O H CH3 CH3 H F H O 7 O 4 A B Figure 1. Structure of betamethasone [A]; dexchlorpheniramine maleate [B]. Various methods have been reported for the determination of betamethasone in a single dosage form and in combination with other drugs. Quantification of betamethasone in human plasma by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry using atmospheric pressure photo ionization in negative mode has been reported [3]. Betamethasone and betamethasone 17-monopropionate determinations were reported in human plasma by liquid chromatography– positive/negative electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry [4]. Analysis of corticosteroids including betamethasone in hair has been reported using liquid chromatography– electrospray ionization mass spectrometry [5]. Coupled-column liquid chromatographic–tandem mass spectrometric method has been reported for the determination of betamethasone in urine sample [6]. HPLC method has been reported for determinations of betamethasone in combination with cyanocobalamin and diclofenac sodium in pharmaceutical formulations [7] and betamethasone dipropionate and salicylic acid in pharmaceutical preparations [8]. Ion-paired RP-HPLC assay for simultaneous measurement of betamethasone and betamethasone sodium phosphate in plasma was developed and reported [9]. RP-HPLC method has been described for the concurrent assay of betamethasone dipropionate and tolnaftate in combined semisolid formulation [10]. Determination of betamethasone and dexamethasone in plasma has been reported using fluorogenic derivatization and liquid chromatography [11]. Simultaneous analysis of betamethasone valerate and miconazole nitrate in cream [12] and determination of betamethasone in tablet dosage form [13] by densitometric method has also been reported. Thermal degradation of betamethasone sodium phosphate under solid state and determination of the degradation products using LC–MS- NMR methods has been described [14]. A stability indicating RP-HPLC method has been described for simultaneous determination of salicylic acid, betamethasone dipropionate, and their related compounds in Diprosalic Lotion® [15], for assay of betamethasone and estimation of its related compounds [16] and separation of betamethasone from low level dexamethasone and other related compounds [17]. A method has been described for the determination of dexchlorpheniramine maleate [18] in human plasma by HPLC-MS. RP-HPLC with aqueous-organic and micellarorganic mobile phases has been reported to determine the correlation between hydrophobicity and retention data of several antihistamines including dexchlorpheniramine [19]. HPLC method has been reported for determination of optical purity of dexchlorpheniramine maleate with circular dichroism (CD) detector [20]. The use of the first and second derivatives of the ratio of the emission spectra with a zerocrossing technique has been reported for determination of mixture of dexamethasone, dexchlorpheniramine maleate and fluphenazine hydrochloride [21]. There is no reported method for the simultaneous determination of this combination of drugs. According to ICH guidelines, stress testing is necessary to elucidate the inherent stability of the active substance. Susceptibility of the active substance to oxidation, hydrolysis, and photolysis has to be tested [22]. The hydrolytic degradation of a new drug in acidic and alkaline conditions can be studied by exposing the drug in 0.1 N HCl / NaOH for 1-7 days [23, 24]. If reasonable degradation is seen, testing can be stopped at this point. However, in case no degradation is seen under these conditions, the drug should be exposed to acid/alkali of higher strengths and for longer duration. Alternatively, if total degradation is seen after subjecting the drug to initial conditions, acid/alkali strength can be decreased along with decrease in the reaction temperature. To test for oxidation, it is suggested to use hydrogen peroxide in the concentration range of 3–30% [23]. The photochemical degradation should be carried out by exposure to direct sunlight for 24 h [24]. Thermal degradation can be study by exposing the drug substance in solid state to temperature of ≥ 70 o C [24]. Nowadays, HPTLC has become a routine analytical technique due to its advantages of reliability in quantification of analytes at micro and even in nanogram levels and cost 34 Tadesse Haile Fereja et al.: Stability Indicating HPTLC Method Development for Determination of Betamethasone and Dexchlorpheniramine Maleate in a Tablet Dosage Form effectiveness. Due to the lower sample capacity of the HPTLC layer, the amount of sample applied to the layer is reduced. A further advantage is that the compact starting spots allow an increase in the number of samples which may be applied to the HPTLC plate. Simultaneous assay of several components in a multicomponent formulation is possible [25, 26]. As there is no official or reported analytical method for the simultaneous determination of the two drugs, the objective of this study was to develop and validate a stability indicating HPTLC-densitometry method for simultaneous determination of betamethasone and dexchlorpheniramine maleate combination in commercial tablet dosage form. 2. Experimental 2.1. Materials 2.1.1. Chemicals Analytical grade methanol (Sigma- Aldrich, Germany) and ethyl acetate (BDH, England) were purchased from Pharmaceuticals Fund and Supply Agency, Ethiopia. Celestamine® tablet (0.25mg betamethasone/2mg dexchlorpheniramine maleate, Sharing-Plough, France) was purchased from pharmacy retail outlet in Addis Ababa. Working standards of betamethasone (98.7% purity) and dexchlorpheniramine maleate (99.7% purity) (SharingPlough, France) were obtained from Food, Medicine and Health Care Control Authority FMHACA, Ethiopia. 2.2.2. Preparation of Test Solutions 30 Celestamine® tablets whose mean weight was determined were finely powdered. Powder equivalent to 6.25 mg of betamethasone and 50 mg of dexchlorpheniramine maleate was transferred into a 50 ml volumetric flask containing 25 ml methanol, sonicated for 30 min and diluted to volume with methanol. The resulting solution was filtered using Whatman No 42 filter paper. Supernatant containing 1mg/ml of dexchlorpheniramine maleate and 0.125 mg/ml of betamethasone was used as stock solution. 2.2.3. Sample Application and Chromatogram Development The sample was applied in the form of band with a length of 6 mm using Camag Linomat 5 sample applicator and 100 µl Camag syringe, 10 mm from the bottom and 10 mm from the side edges of the plate. The band was dried with the aid of an online nitrogen gas. 20 x10 cm twin trough Camag chamber containing 16 ml of the selected solvent was used for the development. Ascending mode of development was employed throughout the course of the experiment. The optimized chamber saturation time for mobile phase was 15 min at room temperature (25◦C ± 2) at relative humidity of 60 % ± 5. The length of chromatogram run was 8 cm that was achieved in about 30 min. Subsequent to development; chromatograms were dried in a current of warm air with the help of hair dryer for 20 min. 2.2. Method 2.2.4. Selection of Mobile Phase The mobile phase composition is generally selected by a controlled process of trial and error. The mobile phase should be chosen taking into consideration the chemical properties of analytes and the sorbent layer. After these experiments the solvents giving the most appropriate separations are chosen for further optimization of the mobile phase. At the optimization level mixtures of solvents from different selectivity groups are investigated by adjusting strength, if required. At this level addition of small amounts of acidic or basic modifier can be considered and tested whenever this appears promising. 2.2.1. Preparation of Standard Solutions 2.3. Validation of the Developed Method (i) Stock Standard Solution 10mg of betamethasone and 80mg dexchlorpheniramine maleate were weighed and transferred to 100 ml volumetric flask and dissolved in 50 ml methanol. Then, it was diluted to the volume with methanol to obtain a concentration of 0.1 mg/ml and 0.8 mg/ml of betamethasone and dexchlorpheniramine maleate respectively. The solution was kept at room temperature until used. 2.3.1. Determination of Linearity Linearity relationship between peak area of the spots and concentration of the drugs were evaluated over a range of concentrations (ng/band). Fifteen levels of standard solutions were prepared as described in section 2.2.1.2. From these serial dilutions, solutions with concentrations of 0.004 mg/ml to 0.056 mg/ml with a variation of 0.004 mg/ml for betamethasone and between 0.032 mg/ml to 0.48 mg/ml with a variation of 0.032 mg/ml for dexchlorpheniramine maleate were obtained. 3 µl of these solutions were applied to the plates to get 12.5-187.5 ng/band of betamethasone and 1001500 ng/band of dexchlorpheniramine maleate. 2.1.2. Instruments Micro syringe (Linomat syringe 659.004), linomat 5 applicator, twin trough chamber 20x10cm, UV chamber, TLC scanner III, winCATS version 1.4.0 software (all from Camag, Muttenz, Switzerland), precoated aluminum backed HPTLC plates (silica gel 60 F-254, 20 x 20 cm with 200 µm, thickness, Merck, Germany) and hair dryer (Philip lady 1000, Type HP 4312, Hong Kong) were used in the study. (ii) Calibration Standard Solutions Fifteen different concentration levels of calibration standard solutions were freshly prepared by diluting 1-15 ml of the stock standard solution with 1ml interval to 25 ml in appropriate volumetric flasks using methanol. 2.3.2. Precision Studies Repeatability and intermediate precision were studied by taking a concentration within the linearity range at three AASCIT Journal of Chemistry 2015; 2(2): 32-42 different levels; 50, 75, 100 ng/spot for betamethasone and 400, 600, 800 ng/spot for dexchlorpheniramine maleate. The solutions were spotted in replicate of six to the plate and the relative standard deviation (RSD) at each level was calculated. 2.3.3. Accuracy In this study, accuracy was checked by standard addition method which involves the spiking of equal amount of the sample with at least three different amount of the reference standard, and then measuring the response for both spiked and non-spiked preparations. For the developed method, recovery study was carried out by applying the method on drug sample to which known amount of betamethasone and dexchlorpheniramine maleate corresponding to 80, 100 and 120 % of label claim had been added. 2.3.4. Robustness By introducing small changes in the mobile phase composition, the effects on the results were examined. Mobile phases having different composition like ethyl acetate–methanol–ammonia (1.8: 13.0: 1.0 + 0.1v/v/v); (2.2: 13.0: 1.0 + 0.1v/v/v); (2.0: 11.7: 1.0 + 0.1v/v/v); (2.0: 14.3: 1.0, + 0.1v/v/v); (2.0: 13.0: 0.9 + 0.1 v/v/v) and (2.0: 13.0: 1.1 + 0.1v/v/v) were tried and chromatograms were run. The volume of mobile phase (16ml) was varied in the range of ± 5%. Time from spotting to chromatography was varied from 10 + 5 minutes and from chromatography to scanning was varied from 20 + 5 minutes. Robustness of the method was checked by analyst variation. For all robustness studies, three different concentration levels 50, 75, 100 ng/spot and 400, 600, 800 ng/spot for betamethasone and dexchlorpheniramine maleate, respectively were used. 2.3.5. Detection and Quantitation Limits The detection and quantitation limits of the developed method were calculated using the following formulae LOD = 3.3 × SD/S and LOQ = 10 × SD/S where ‘SD’ is the standard deviation of the y-intercepts of the regression lines constructed as described in section 2. 3. 1 for the blank response and ‘S’ is the slope of the calibration plot. 2.3.6. Specificity Specificity of the method was ascertained by analyzing standard drug and sample. The spot for betamethasone and dexchlorpheniramine maleate in sample was confirmed by comparing the Rf and the UV spectra of the spot with that of standard. The peak purity of betamethasone and dexchlorpheniramine maleate was assessed by comparing the spectra at three different levels, i.e., peak start (S), peak apex (M) and peak end (E) positions of the spot. 2.4. Sample Solution Stability Study Solutions having three different concentrations (50, 75 and 100 ng/spot for betamethasone) and (400, 600 and 800 ng/spot for dexchlorpheniramine maleate) were prepared from reference solution as described in section 2.2.1.2 and stored at 35 room temperature for 2.0, 4.0, 6.0, 12.0 and 24 hrs. 2.5. Analysis of Dosage Form For determination of betamethasone and dexchlorpheniramine maleate in commercial tablet dosage form, sample solution prepared as described in section 2.2.2 were used. From this solution, 1 ml was transferred to a 10ml volumetric flask and diluted to volume with methanol. 6 µl from the diluted solution was spotted in triplicate. Betamethasone and dexchlorpheniramine maleate content was determined from peak area of densitogram. The calibration curves, constructed as described in section 2.3.1 were used for determination of the actual contents of the two substances in the dosage form. 2.6. Stress Degradation Studies All degradation studies were carried out at a drug concentration of 1mg/ml. Acid (1N) and alkaline (1N) hydrolysis and oxidation by 3 and 30 % H2O2 was done by refluxing the drug solutions in water bath at 70oC for 6 hrs. Thermal degradation studies were carried out by exposing the powdered drugs to dry heat at 105o C for 24 hrs. Photo degradation studies were performed by exposing the powdered drugs to direct sun light for 3 days. Samples for each treatment were subjected to HPTLC analysis at a concentration of 1000 ng/spot. 3. Results and Discussion 3.1. Method Development Well resolved and sharp peaks for betamethasone (Rf = 0.32 ± 0.04) and dexchlorpheniramine maleate (Rf = 0.76 ± 0.05) were obtained [Figure 2], when ethyl acetate: methanol: ammonia (2: 13: 1 v/v/v) was used as a mobile phase. The solvent system composed of dichloromethane: methanol: ammonia (3: 13: 1 v/v/v) showed good resolution for the two spots but the spot for dexchlorpheniramine maleate appeared near the solvent front while propanol: methanol: ammonia (6: 14: 1 v/v/v) showed small migration distance for betamethasone from the application point. Good separation was observed in the solvent system methanol: ethanol: ammonia (12: 4: 1 v/v/v) but a tailed spot was observed for betamethasone. Quantitative determinations of betamethasone and dexchlorpheniramine maleate were performed by scanning the spots of the two substances at 226 nm [Figure 3]. The selected and optimized mobile phase was let to saturate the chamber for 20minutes. The plate was then allowed to dry for 20minutes using hair dryer. 3.2. Linearity and Calibration Curves Linearity was found over the concentration range of 25 137.5 ng/spot with r2 ± RSD of 0.997 ± 0.00102 for betamethasone and 100-800 ng/spot with r2 ± RSD of 0.999 ± 0.141 for dexchlorpheniramine maleate. Peak area and concentration were subjected to least square linear regression 36 Tadesse Haile Fereja et al.: Stability Indicating HPTLC Method Development for Determination of Betamethasone and Dexchlorpheniramine Maleate in a Tablet Dosage Form analysis to obtain the calibration equation and correlation coefficients [Table 1]. Figure 2. Typical densitogram of betamethasone [1] and dexchlorpheniramine maleate [2]. Table 1. Linear regression data for the calibration curves (n = 5) Parameters Linearity range r ± RSD Slope ± RSD Intercept ± RSD Confidence limit of slope a Confidence limit of intercept a a Betamethasone 25 - 137.5 ng/spot 0.998 ± 0 .00102 15.17 ± 0. 14 271.0 ± 2.5 15.17 ± 0.133 271.0 ± 0.21 Dexchlorpheniramine maleate 100-800 ng/spot 0.999 ± 0.0141 2.303 ± 0.836 309.7 ± 4.44 2.303 ± 0.037 309.7 ± 26.45 95% confidence limit. Figure 3. The UV spectral display of dexchlorpheniramine maleate [1] and betamethasone [2]. AASCIT Journal of Chemistry 2015; 2(2): 32-42 37 3.3. Method Validation repeatability of the method. 3.3.1. Precision Repeatability and intermediate precision of the developed method were expressed in terms of RSD of the peak area. The results showed that intra- and inter day variations of the peak areas at three different concentration levels of 50, 75, and 100 ng/spot for betamethasone and 400, 600, and 800 ng/spot for dexchlorpheniramine maleate [Table 2] were within the acceptable range. The low RSD values indicate the 3.3.2. Recovery Studies The proposed method when used for extraction and subsequent estimation of betamethasone and dexchlorpheniramine maleate from pharmaceutical dosage forms after spiking with 80, 100 and 120 % of additional drug afforded a recovery rate of 99.70–100.44 % for betamethasone and 99.73-100.49 % for dexchlorpheniramine maleate (Table 3). Table 2. Intra- and inter-day precision of HPTLC method (n = 6) Compound Betamethasone Dexchlorpheniramine maleate Amount (ng/band) 50 75 100 400 600 800 Intra-day precision SD 5.0 2.3 8.8 7.3 9.9 9.6 RSD 1.10 0.17 0.80 0.99 1.11 1.07 Inter-day precision SD 14.3 12.4 11.9 17.0 15.1 1.3 RSD 1.13 1.10 0.9 1.09 1.06 0.06 Table 3. Recovery studies for betamethasone and dexchlorpheniramine maleate (n = 5) Drug added to the analyte (%) (a)Betamethasone 0 80 100 120 (b)Dexchlorpheniramine maleate 0 80 100 120 Theoretical content(ng) Reference Added(ng) Recovery (%)±SD % RSD 50 90 100 110 40 50 60 99.70 ± 0.64 99.87 ± 0.53 100.44 ± 0.6 100.10 ± 0.42 0.49 0.27 0.22 0.19 400 720 800 880 320 400 480 99.90 ± 0.04 99.79 ± 0.02 99.73 ± 0.06 100.49 ± 0.03 0.38 0.21 0.51 0.29 3.3.3. Specificity The results for betamethasone were found to be peak start, peak apex [r2 = 0.9999], and peak apex and peak end positions [r2 = 0.9997] while for dexchlorpheniramine maleate the results were found to be peak start, peak apex [r2 = 0.9999], and peak apex and peak end positions [r2 = 0.9997]. Good correlation i.e. r2 = 0.9996 and r2 = 0.9997 was also obtained between standard and sample spectra of betamethasone and dexchlorpheniramine maleate, respectively. Figure 4. UV spectra comparison of the spots of the standards [2 & 3] and dosage form [1& 4] for betamethasone [*] and dexchlorpheniramine maleate [**]. 38 Tadesse Haile Fereja et al.: Stability Indicating HPTLC Method Development for Determination of Betamethasone and Dexchlorpheniramine Maleate in a Tablet Dosage Form respectively. 3.3.4. Limit of Detection and Quantification The limit of detection and quantification of the developed method were calculated as in section 3.4.4 and it was found to be 2.49 and 7.54 ng/spot respectively for betamethasone. For dexchlorpheniramine maleate the limit of detection and quantification were found to be 19.51 and 60.70 ng/spot 3.3.5. Robustness Standard deviation of peak areas was calculated for each parameter and RSD was found to be less than 2 %. The low RSD values as shown in Table 4 indicate robustness of the method. Table 4. Results for robustness study of the method (p = 0.05, n = 6; tstat = 4.3) Betamethasone a Dexchlorpheniramine maleate b Parameters Optimized solvent system Mobile phase composition (v/v/v) Volume of mobile phase (v/v/v) Time from spotting to chromatography Time from chromatography to scanning a SD* RSD* 2.0:13.0:1.0 (16ml) 14.5 0.53 1.8:13.0:1.0 28.7 0.85 2.2:13.0:1.0 14.1 0.41 2.0:11.7:1.0 13.2 2.0:14.3:1.0 23.0 2.0:13.0:0.9 t cal SD* RSD* 13.3 0.27 t cal 0.25 17.4 0.54 0.95 0.98 14.0 0.30 0.55 0.31 0.86 24.1 0.30 0.46 0.29 0.63 12.5 0.18 0.26 12.3 0.22 0.79 22.9 0.21 0.00 2.0:13.0:1.1 22.1 0.21 0.20 23.0 0.22 0.39 2.1:13.6:1.1(16.8ml) 22.1 0.21 0.17 11.5 0.11 0.03 1.9:12.4:0.9(15.2ml) 32.4 0.24 0.20 13.1 0.22 0.49 Optimized time (10min) 12.1 0.41 12.8 0.23 15min 23.0 0.22 0.63 13.0 0.21 0.03 20min 24.7 0.34 0.74 21.1 0.34 0.13 Optimized time (20min) 16.5 0.12 0.43 25.6 0.2 0.29 25min 23.2 0.31 0.63 24.1 0.18 0.46 30min 12.3 0.21 0.42 13.2 0.23 0.51 Principal analyst 16.7 0.67 0.62 29.5 0.42 0.12 Analyst one 22.1 0.53 0.69 14.3 0.16 0.55 Analyst two 35.4 0.25 0.43 12.3 0.17 0.11 b 50 ng/band 400 ng/band * SD and RSD calculated from peak areas of densitograms. 3.3.6. Application of the Method for Marketed Formulation Analysis of the marketed formulations was performed in triplicate and results are presented in Table 5. The drug content was found to be 98.20 % of the claimed value (RSD = 0.228) and 101.60 % (RSD = 0.164) for betamethasone and dexchlorpheniramine maleate, respectively. The low % RSD values indicated suitability of the developed method for routine simultaneous determination of betamethasone and dexchlorpheniramine maleate in pharmaceutical dosage forms. Table 5. Data for analysis of the marketed dosage form (Celestamine®) using the developed method Substance Average peak area ± SD % RSD Amount recovered ± SD % Recovery ± SD a 1382.17 ± 3.15 0.23 73.69ng ± 0.21 98.20% ± 0.21 Dexchlorpheniramine maleate b 1684.13 ± 2.77 0.16 609.78ng ±1.26 101.60% ±1.26 Betamethasone a = 75 ng/band, b = 600 ng/band 3.4. Forced Degradation Studies nature of the method. Densitograms obtained for the drugs treated with acid, base, hydrogen peroxide, and heat contained well resolved spots for the pure drugs and the degradation products. The Rf values of the parent drugs (betamethasone and dexchlorpheniramine maleate) were not significantly changed from the original position in the presence of the degradation products, which showed the stability-indicating 3.4.1. Degradation Under Acidic Conditions Betamethasone was degraded under acidic condition and showed three degradation products at Rf of 0.19, 0.25 and 0.36 in addition to the one for the original compound at Rf = 0.32 as shown in Figure 5. No degradation product was observed under acidic condition for dexchlorpheniramine maleate. AASCIT Journal of Chemistry 2015; 2(2): 32-42 A 39 B Figure 5. Densitogram for betamethasone [A] and synthetic mixture [B] under acid induced degradation, mobile phase, ethyl acetate: methanol: ammonia 2: 13: 1, v/v/v, scanned at 226 nm. 3.4.2. Degradation Under Alkaline Conditions Betamethasone was degraded in alkaline condition and showed an additional spot at Rf = 0.36 as shown in Figure 6. A There was no degradation product for dexchlorpheniramine maleate under the alkaline conditions. B Figure 6. Densitogram for betamethasone [A] and synthetic mixture [B] under alkaline induced degradation, mobile phase, ethyl acetate: methanol: ammonia 2: 13: 1, v/v/v, scanned at 226 nm. 3.4.3. Degradation Studies Under Oxidative Condition Betamethasone and dexchlorpheniramine maleate when exposed to 3 % H2O2 showed no degradation product. When the drug solutions were exposed to 30 % H2O2, betamethasone showed one degradation product at Rf = 0.36 and dexchlorpheniramine maleate had one additional peak that appeared at Rf = 0.67 [Figure 7]. 40 Tadesse Haile Fereja et al.: Stability Indicating HPTLC Method Development for Determination of Betamethasone and Dexchlorpheniramine Maleate in a Tablet Dosage Form A B C Figure 7. Densitogram for betamethasone [A], dexchlorpheniramine maleate [B] and synthetic mixture [C] under oxidative degradation condition by 30% H2O2, mobile phase, ethyl acetate: methanol: ammonia 2:13:1, v/v/v, scanned at 226 nm 3.4.4. Thermal Degradation Betamethasone was degraded when subjected to heat for 24 hrs and degradation products appeared at Rf = 0.26 and Rf = 0.36 as shown in Figure 8. No degradation was observed under thermal stress for dexchlorpheniramine maleate. Figure 8. Densitogram for betamethasone under thermal induced degradation. (Mobile phase, ethyl acetate: methanol: ammonia 2:13:1, v/v/v, scanned at 226nm) AASCIT Journal of Chemistry 2015; 2(2): 32-42 3.4.5. Photolytic Conditions The photo degradation study conducted showed no degradation product for the two drug substances. The drugs were found to be stable on exposure to day light continuously for three days. 4. Conclusion The developed HPTLC technique is rapid, precise, specific, robust, accurate and stability-indicating. Statistical analysis proved that the method is reproducible and selective for simultaneous determination of betamethasone and dexchlorpheniramine maleate in pharmaceutical formulations. As the method could effectively separate the drugs from their degradation products it can be employed as a stability indicating one. Acknowledgments One of the authors (T. H.) would like to acknowledge the Graduated Studies and Research Office of Addis Ababa University for sponsoring this research. We also acknowledge the Food, Medicine and Health Care Control Authority of Ethiopia (FMHCCA), for the laboratory facilities. References 41 [8] Kedor-Hackmann E. R. M., Gianotto E. A. S. and Santoro M. I. R. M. (1998). Determination of betamethasone dipropionate and salicylic acid in pharmaceutical preparations by highperformance liquid chromatography. Drug Devel and Indu Pharm; 24: 553-555. 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