Patel Riddhiben M et al.

IRJP 2 (5) 2011 79-87

INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH JOURNAL OF PHARMACY
Available online http://www.irjponline.com
Review Article

ISSN 2230 8407

STABILITY INDICATING HPLC METHOD DEVELOPMENT A REVIEW

Patel Riddhiben M.1*, Patel Piyushbhai M.1 , Patel Natubhai M.1
Dept of Quality Assurance, Shri B. M. Shah College of Pharmaceutical Edu. & Research
Modasa, Gujarat, India
Article Received on: 19/03/2011 Revised on: 19/04/2011 Approved for publication: 30/04/2011
* Patel Riddhiben M, Shri B. M. Shah College of Pharmaceutical Edu. & Research, Modasa (Gujarat) 383 315,
India [email protected]
ABSTRACT
High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is an essential analytical tool in assessing drug product stability. HPLC methods should be
able to separate, detect, and quantify the various drug-related degradants that can form on storage or manufacturing, plus detect and quantify
any drug-related impurities that may be introduced during synthesis. This article discusses the strategies and the issues pertinent to designing
stability-indicating HPLC methods for drug substances. It furthers understanding of the chemistry of the drug substance and drug product
and facilitates the development of stability indicating analytical methodology. A number of key chromatographic factors were evaluated in
order to optimize the detection of all potentially relevant degradants. An appropriate sample solvent and mobile phase must be found that
affords suitable stability and compatibility with the component of interest as well as the potential impurities and degradants. The method
should be carefully examined for its ability to distinguish primary degradants from secondary degradants. Forced degradation studies of new
chemical entities and drug products are essential to help develop and demonstrate the specificity of such stability-indicating methods.
Practical recommendations are provided for developing forced degradation protocols at every stage of drug development and avoiding
common pitfalls that may confuse data interpretation.
KEY WORDS: HPLC, Forced degradation, Stability indicating method

INTRODUCTION
Stability testing of drug substance requires an accurate
analytical method that quantitates active pharmaceutical
ingredients (API) without interference from degradation
products, process impurities and other potential
impurities. With the advent of International Conference
on Harmonization (ICH) guidelines, the requirement of
establishment of stability-indicating assay method
(SIAM) has become more clearly mandated. The
guidelines explicitly require conduct of forced
decomposition studies under a variety of conditions, like
pH, light, oxidation, dry heat, etc. and separation of drug
from degradation products.
Stability-indicating method
A stability-indicating assay is a validated quantitative
analytical procedure that can detect the changes with
time in the pertinent properties of the drug substance and
drug product. A stability-indicating assay accurately
measures the active ingredients, without interference
from degradation products, process impurities,
excipients, or other potential impurities.1
Forced degradation plays an important role in the
development
of stability indicating analytical
methodology. In addition to demonstrating specificity,
forced degradation studies can be used to determine the

IRJP 2 (5) May 2011

degradation pathways and degradation products of the

APIs that could form during storage, and facilitate
formulation development, manufacturing, and packaging.
Procedures for the preparation of specific degradation
products needed for method validation often emerge
from these studies.
STABILITY
INDICATING
METHOD
DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES
There is no one set fits all formula for developing
stability indicating analytical method. Before beginning
with actual experimentation it would be advantageous to
view method development from a broader perspective.
Bakshi and Singh2 reviewed and discussed some critical
issues about developing stability indicating methods.
Dolan3 made comments and suggestions on stability
indicating assays. Smela4 discussed from regulatory
point of view about stability indicating analytical
methods. The method development process can be
visualized from a high-level process map perspective
better to define the general steps encountered to
achieving the end product, stability indicating method.
Figure 1 shows a scheme of stability-indicating HPLC
method development strategy.5 The following is a
discussion of a general idea for designing stability
indicating analytical method.

Page 79-87

Patel Riddhiben M et al. IRJP 2 (5) 2011 79-87

Step I - Understand the chemistry/ Physicochemical
properties of drug
Knowledge of the physicochemical properties of the API
and the formulations is essential in helping to frame the
development of the method. Information on various
properties has been collected either through systematic
program of generating the appropriate information in
support of drug discovery or from a search of the
literature, company drug profiles, spectral libraries, and
reports. Information about dissociation constants,
partition coefficients, fluorescent properties (if any),
chromatographic
behavior,
Spectrophotometric
properties, oxidation-reduction potentials are useful in
setting up preliminary experimental condition and also
helpful in selecting the condition of stress studies or
possibly in proposing degradation mechanism.6
Dissociation constant and partition coefficients can be
used to develop an efficient sample extraction scheme
and determine the optimum PH in mobile phase to
achieve good separation. The data on fluorescence,
spectrophotometric, chromatographic, and oxidationreduction properties can be used to determine the best
means of measuring and quantifying the analyte of
interest. Structure of the analyte, especially functional
group will indicate the potential active sites for
degradation and the susceptibility of the drug to
hydrolysis, oxidation, thermal degradation, etc. is
determined. Compatibility studies are performed to
assess the stability of the when mixed with common
excipients and lubricants as well as to determine any
interaction between the drug and the (inactive) raw
materials.7 Sometimes this physicochemical information
may not be known or available, so that an initial
separation would have to be tried, based on prior
experience, in order to determine a course of action for
subsequent experimentation.
Step II Set up Preliminary HPLC condition
Preliminary experimental conditions may be adapted
from official or unofficial methods and from literature as
a starting point. Official methods published in the United
States Pharmacopeia (USP) are considered validated and
can be used for stability testing if it is proved stability
indicating and suitable for intended purposes. New
methods have to be created if there are no suitable
methods available. Establishing experimental conditions
should be based on the properties of API and impurities
if known. Proper column and mobile phase selection is
very critical. Copious information about various HPLC
columns is available nowadays and it is possible to select
a right column for any kind of API.7 One of the very
useful sources of information about column is the
catalogs from vendors. Get appropriate separation

IRJP 2 (5) May 2011

conditions by selecting columns and mobile phase

combinations. Computer assisted method development
can be very helpful in developing the preliminary HPLC
conditions quickly. Since the objective at this stage is to
quickly develop HPLC conditions for subsequent method
development experiments, scientists should focus on the
separation of the significant related substances instead of
trying to achieve good resolution for all related
substances. A proper experimental condition at the
beginning will save a lot of time in subsequent
development stage.8
Step III Preparation of samples required for
method development
SIMs is developed routinely by stressing the API under
conditions exceeding those normally used for accelerated
stability testing. In addition to demonstrating specificity
in SIMs, stress testing, also referred to as forced
degradation, also can be used to provide information
about degradation pathways and products that could form
during storage and help facilitate formulation
development, manufacturing, and packaging. It is hard to
get actual representative samples in the early stage of
development. Stressing the API generates the sample that
contains the products most likely to form under most
realistic storage conditions, which is in turn used to
develop the SIM.9Generally, the goal of these studies is
to degrade the API 5-10 %.Perform forced degradation
study through thermolysis, hydrolysis, oxidation,
photolysis, and or combination conditions. Each forced
degradation sample should be analyzed by using the
preliminary HPLC conditions with suitable detector,
most preferably PDA detector. While the typical dosage
form-solid (tablet/capsule), semisolid (ointment /cream),
or solution (cough syrup/ophthalmic solution)-utilizes a
solid-phase extraction (SPE) for sample preparation,
especially for biosamples and as an alternative to liquidliquid extractions in many U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) methods.10
Step IV Developing Separation StabilityIndicating Chromatography Conditions
In selecting initial chromatographic conditions for a SIM
of a new entity, most important is to make sure that
degradants are in solution, separated, and detected. To
this effect, a diluents of 1:1 water: organic solvent is a
good starting point as it will increase the likelihood of
solubility of most related materials and ensure proper
disintegration of solid dosage forms.11
The second step is to obtain separation conditions that
allow the determination of as many distinct peaks as
possible from the set of test samples. The most common
separation variables include solvent type, mobile phase
PH, column type and temperature.12

Page 79-87

Patel Riddhiben M et al. IRJP 2 (5) 2011 79-87

Isocratic or Gradient Mode
Selection of isocratic or gradient mode depends on the
number of active components to be resolved or
separated. In deciding whether a gradient would be
required or whether isocratic mode would be adequate,
an initial gradient run is performed, and the ratio
between the total gradient time and the difference in
gradient time between the first and last components are
calculate. The calculated ratio is <0.25, isocratic is
adequate; when the ratio is >0.25, gradient would be
beneficial13 as shown in figure 2.
Generally, Isocratic mode is used for product release
and gradient mode for stability assessment because the
isocratic method has generally a say less than 15
minutes, and no degradation product would be
monitored, assuming that none are formed initially.
With time the degradation products are formed and
must be monitored, which requires a gradient method to
resolve completely the mixture .The gradient method,
then, would be the stability or regulatory method.
Solvent type
Solvent
type
(methanol,
acetonitrile,
and
tetrahydrofuran) will affect selectivity. The choice
between methanol and acetonitrile may be dependent
on the solubility of the analyte as well as the buffer
used. Tetrahydrofuran is least polar among these three
solvent, often responsible for large changes in
selectivity and is also incompatible with the lowwavelength detection required for most pharmaceutical
compounds.5, 12
Mobile phase pH
When the sample is eluted with a mobile phase of
100% (organic), there is no separation, as the sample is
eluted in the void volume. This is because the sample is
not retained; but retention is observed when the mobile
phase solvent strength is decreased to allow equilibrium
competition of the solute molecules between the
bonded phase and the mobile phase. When the
separation is complex, that is, many components are to
be separated, and when the solvent strength is
decreased and there is still no resolution between two
close peaks, another organic solvent of a different
polarity or even a mixture of two organics may need to
be tried to effect separation. Additionally, mobile phase
optimization can be enhanced in combination with
bonded phase optimization (i.e., substituting C18 /C8
with cyano or phenyl). A goal for the band spacing of a
solute (K) should be in the range of 4 to 9 and a run
time of about 15 minutes or 20 minutes at most for
most routine product release or stability runs.5
Role of the column and column temperature

IRJP 2 (5) May 2011

The heart of a HPLC system is the column. Changing a

column will have the greatest effect on the resolution of
analytes during method development. The three main
components of an HPLC column are the hardware
(column housing), the matrix, and the stationary phase.
Generally, modern reverse phase HPLC columns are
made by packing the column housing with spherical
silica gel beads which are coated with the hydrophobic
stationary phase. The stationary phase is introduced to
the matrix by reacting a chlorosilane with the hydroxyl
groups present on the silica gel surface. In general, the
nature of stationary phase has the greatest effect on
capacity factor, selectivity, efficiency and elution.
There are several types of matrices for support of the
stationary phase, including silica, polymers, alumina,
and zirconium. Silica is the most common matrix for
HPLC columns. Silica matrices are robust, easily
derivatized, manufactured to consistent sphere size, and
does not tend to compress under pressure. Silica is
chemically stable to most organic solvents and to low
pH systems. One short coming of a silica solid support
is that it will dissolve above pH 7. In recent years, silica
supported columns have been developed for use at high
PH. The nature, shape and particle size of the silica
support effects separation. Smaller particle results in a
greater number of theoretical plates, or increased
separation efficiency. However, the use of smaller
particles also results in increased backpressure during
chromatography and the column more easily becomes
plugged. For this reason 5 columns are more
frequently used than 3 columns in development
work. Narrower particle size distribution of the silica
particles also results in better resolution. Hence, similar
phase columns from different manufacturers or
different lots of columns from the same manufacture
may have very different separation properties due to
differing methods of matrix preparation. The nature of
the stationary phase will determine whether a column
can be used for normal phase or reverse phase
chromatography. Normal phase chromatography
utilizes a polar stationary phase and a non-polar mobile
phase. Generally, more polar compounds elute later
than non-polar compounds. Types of columns suitable
for
normal
phase
chromatography
include
underivatized silica, nitrile, amino (or amino propyl),
glycerol and nitro columns. Chiral separation is usually
performed under normal phase conditions. Since highly
polar and ionic compounds are retained on normal
phase columns, a guard column or silica gel sample
purification should be used to extend the column life.
In reverse phase chromatography the stationary phase is
non-polar and the mobile phase is polar, causing polar

Page 79-87

Patel Riddhiben M et al. IRJP 2 (5) 2011 79-87

peaks to generally elute earlier than non-polar peaks.
To create a stationary phase for reverse phase
chromatography on silica support, the free silanols are
reacted with a chlorosilane with hydrophobic
functionality to introduce the non-polar surface. Due to
steric constraints, only about 1/3 of the surface silanols
are derivatized. The remaining free silanols can interact
with analytes, causing peak tailing. Typically, after the
derivitization of a column with the desired stationary
phase, the column is further reacted with
chlorotrimethylsilane to end cap the remaining
freesilanols and improve the column efficiency.
Common stationary phases are C4 (butyl), C8 (MOS),
C18 (ODS), nitrile (cyanopropyl), and phenyl (phenyl
propyl) columns. In general, longer alkyl chains, higher
phase loading, and higher carbon loads provide greater
retention of non-polar analytes. Selectivity is most
influenced by the amount of accessible surface area of
the derivatized silica gel particles and the carbon load.
Thus it is often a benefit to not only have columns with
different stationary phases, but columns with the same
phase from different manufacturers. Commonly used
reverse phase columns and their uses are listed below.
Propyl (C3), Butyl (C4), and Pentyl (C5) phases are
useful for ion-pairing chromatography (C4) (vide infra)
and peptides with hydrophobic residues, and other large
molecules. C3C5 columns generally retain non-polar
solutes more poorly when compared to C8 or C18
phases. Examples include Zorbax SB-C3, YMC-Pack
C4, and Luna C5. These columns are generally less
stable to hydrolysis than columns with longer alkyl
chains.
Octyl (C8, MOS) phases have wide applicability. This
phase is less retentive than the C18phases, but is still
quite useful for pharmaceuticals, nucleosides, and
steroids. Octyl columns are also useful for peptides,
peptide mapping and small hydrophilic proteins when
bonded to 300 silica particles. Examples include
Zorbax SB-C8, Luna C8, and YMC-Pack-MOS.
Octadecyl (C18, ODS) columns are the most widely
used and tend to be the most retentive for non-polar
analytes. This phase is useful in ion-pairing
chromatography and has wide applicability (same as C8
in addition to vitamins, fatty acids, environmental
compounds).Examples include Zorbax SB-C18, YMCPack ODS and Luna C18.
Xterra RP-C18 and Zorbax Extend-C18 columns have
been formulated to tolerate high pH systems (pH >7,
normally up to pH 11). Varying the pH can
dramatically affect selectivity and resolution of polar
analytes, especially for ionizable compounds.

IRJP 2 (5) May 2011

Phenyl (Ph) columns offer unique selectivity from the

alkyl phases and are generally less retentive than C8 or
C18 phases. Phenyl columns are commonly used to
resolve aromatic compounds. Examples include Zorbax
SB-Phenyl, YMC-Pack Phenyl and Luna PhenylHexyl.
Nitrile (CN or cyano) columns are polar and can be
used for both reverse and normal phase applications.
This phase is often used to increase retention of polar
analytes. The nitrile derivatization allows for rapid
column equilibration. Examples include Zorbax SBCN, Luna-CN, and YMC-Pack CN.
Standard C18 Columns and similar stationary phases
will undergo phase collapse at highly aqueous mobile
phases, typically at less than 5-10% organic
composition; this will decrease analyte-stationary phase
interaction. Collapsed phases are also difficult to reequilibrate. To prevent phase collapse, C18 columns
with a polar group embedded in the alkyl chain have
been developed to help solvate the hydrophobic chain
in >90% aqueous mobile phases. Examples include
Zorbax SB-Aq, Synergi Hydro-RP andYMC-Pack
ODS-Aq.14
Column temperature
Column temperature control is important for long-term
method reproducibility as temperature can affect
selectivity. A target temperature in the range of 3040 C
is normally sufficient for good reproducibility. Use of
elevated temperature can be advantageous for several
reasons. First, operating at a temperature higher than
ambient reduces the viscosity of the mobile phase and
thus the overall backpressure on the column. Lower
system pressures allow for faster flow rates and thus
faster analyses. The temperature may also affect
selectivity patterns because analytes will respond
dissimilarly to different temperatures. Finally, use of a
column oven eliminates variability due to normal
fluctuations in the air temperature surrounding the
column.
While temperature is a variable that can affect selectivity
, its effect is relatively small. Also, the k' generally
decreases with an increase in temperature for neutral
compounds but less dramatically for partially ionized
analytes. Some effect when there is a significant
difference in shape and size. Overall, it is better to use
solvent strength to control selectivity than to use
temperature; its effect is much more dramatic. An
increase of 1C will decrease the k' by 1 to 2%, a both
ionic and neutral samples are reported to show
significant changes in a with temperature changes.
Possible temperature fluctuations during method

Page 79-87

Patel Riddhiben M et al. IRJP 2 (5) 2011 79-87

development and validation, it is recommended that the
column be thermo stated to control the temperature.15
Peak Purity
Peak purity (or peak homogeneity) analysis of the main
peak, to assess for the presence of impurities under the
main peak, is an essential part of the validation of a
SIM. Direct evaluation can be performed in-line by
employing PDA detection16, LC-MS17, or LC-NMR.
However, PDA only works well for degradants that
have a different UV spectrum from that of the drug.
LC-MS evaluation will not work if the degradant has
the same molecular weight, as is the case for
diastereomers, or if the ionization of the degradant is
suppressed by the co-eluting API.
Indirect evaluation of peak purity can be accomplished
by changing one or more chromatographic parameters
(column, mobile phase, gradient composition, etc.) that
will significantly impact the separation selectivity. The
resulting impurity profile is then compared against that
of the original method. If the number of degradant
peaks is the same in both separations, and if the area
percent of the main component is the same in both
separations, then there can be reasonable confidence
that all the degradants have been resolved from the
main component. Automated versions of this approach
have been successfully utilized in a multi-dimensional
screening
with
instrumentation
capable
of
systematically evaluating several different columns and
eluents for impurity analysis18, 19, 20. Other approaches
use alternate separation techniques such as thin-layer
chromatography (TLC), normal-phase-HPLC, capillary
electrophoresis
(CE),
or
supercritical
fluid
chromatography (SFC), with similar goals as explained
in general terms by Lee Polite in a chapter on liquid
chromatography21.
Step V Method Optimization
The experimental conditions should be optimized to get
desired separations and sensitivity after getting
appropriate separations. Stability-indicating assay
experimental conditions will be achieved through
planned/systematic examination on parameters including
pH (if ionic), mobile phase components and ratio,
gradient, flow rate, temperature, sample amounts,
injection volume, and diluents solvent type.8
Step VI Validation of analytical method
The methods have to be validated according to USP /ICH
guidelines to show accuracy, precision, specificity,
linearity, range, detection limit, quantitation limit,
ruggedness, and robustness of the method. Validation
protocol should be written and acceptance criteria should
be defined. It is necessary to isolate, identify,
characterize, and qualify the degradation products if they

IRJP 2 (5) May 2011

are above the identification threshold (usually 0.1%).22, 23

A variety of techniques are available to identify and
characterize impurities and degradation products such as
HPLC with PDA (Photodiode Array) Detector, IR
(Infrared) Spectrometry, elemental analysis, MS (Mass
Spectrometry), NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance),
GC/MS, LC/MS, LC/MS/MS, LC/NMR, etc. Method
development and validation are cyclic activities. If new
problems are encountered for the method during
validation or the results are failed to meet acceptance
criteria, the method should be modified and be
revalidated until the method is suitable for intended
purposes.
FORCED
DEGRADATION
STUDIES
IN
STABILITY-INDICATING
METHOD
DEVELOPMENT
Forced degradation studies typically involve the
exposure of representative samples of the drug substance
or drug product to the relevant stress conditions of light,
heat, humidity, acid/base hydrolysis, and oxidation.
These experiments play an important role in the drug
development process to facilitate: stability indicating
method development, drug formulation design, selection
of storage conditions and packaging, better
understanding of the potential liabilities of the drug
molecule chemistry, and the resolution of stability
related problems.9,24-26Forced degradation on the drug
substance and product will (in addition to establishing
specificity) also provide the following information: (1)
Determination of degradation pathways of drug
substances and drug products;(2) Discernment of
degradation products in formulations that are related to
drug substances versus those that are related to non-drug
substances(e.g., excipients); (3) Structure elucidation of
degradation products; (4) Determination of the intrinsic
stability of a drug substance molecule in solution and
solid state;(5) reveal the thermolytic, hydrolytic,
oxidative, and photolytic degradation mechanism of the
drug substance and drug product.27
According to the ICH and FDA guidance documents,
Forced degradation study is conducted to fulfill three
main purposes: to provide a stability assessment of the
drug substance or the drug product; to elucidate the
possible degradation pathways of the drug substance or
the active pharmaceutical ingredient in the drug product;
and to investigate the stability-indicating power of the
analytical procedures applied for the drug substance and
the drug product. Although the FDA guidance28 and ICH
guidelines23 provide useful definitions and general
comments about forced degradation studies, their
direction concerning the scope, timing, and best practices
is very general and lacking in details.

Page 79-87

Patel Riddhiben M et al. IRJP 2 (5) 2011 79-87

This article includes a general study protocol,
experimental design, and specific test condition and time
line for conducting the studies relative to the stage of
drug development.
Experimental Design to Forced Degradation Studies
Study protocol
A general protocol for conducting forced degradation
studies, shown in figure 327 is arranged according to the
type of test material (drug substance, drug product) and
the type of degradation (hydrolysis, oxidation, etc.)
Condition for stress Testing
The initial experiments should be focused on
determining the conditions that degrade the drug by
approximately 10%. The different stress conditions and
exposure time generally employed for forced degradation
are summarized in Table 1.
The concentration of drug in the stressed sample solution
may affect the target level of degradation that is
ultimately achieved. A more dilute sample concentration
generally yields more extensive degradation than does a
more concentrated solution, as exemplified in Figure 4
Therefore, lowering the drug concentration may help to
increase degradation when necessary.
Timeline for conducting studies
ICH guidelines make no mention of any regulatory
requirement for forced degradation studies at Phase I or
Phase II of development. There are good reasons for
initiating forced degradation studies on drug substances
at Phase I. The most important reason is to support the
development of a preliminary method that would be
highly discriminating due to its ability to detect most if
not all of the potential degradation products. Such a
method would have stability-indicating power and would
require only minimal validation at this stage. Forced
degradation studies on drug substance and drug product
should be completed prior to registration stability studies
and it would be useful to have identified major
degradants by that time. 29, 30
CONCLUSION
Stability-indicating method is an analytical procedure
that is capable of discriminating between the major
active (intact) pharmaceutical ingredients (API) from any
degradation (decomposition) product(s) formed under
defined storage conditions during the stability evaluation
period. The use of properly designed and executed forced
degradation study will generate a representative sample
that will in turn help to develop stability-indicating
HPLC method. Chromatographic factors should be
evaluated to optimize the SIM-HPLC method for
detection of all potentially relevant degradants. An
appropriate sample solvent and mobile phase must be
found that afford suitable stability and compatibility with

IRJP 2 (5) May 2011

the component of interest, as well as the impurities and

degradants. Therefore, resulting SIM - HPLC is truly fit
for finding the degradants and impurities in
pharmaceutical products.
REFERENCES
1. FDA Guidance for Industry. Analytical Procedures and Methods
Validation (draft guidance), August 2000.
2. Monika Bakshi and Saranjit Singh. Development of validated
stability-indicating assay methods--critical review. J. Pharm.
Biomed. Anal. 2002; 28(6):1011-1040
3. John
W.
Dolan.
Stability-Indicating
Assays.
LC
Troubleshooting. LCGC North America, 2002; 20(4):346-349.
4. Michael J. Smela. Regulatory Considerations for Stability
Indicating Analytical Methods in Drug Substance and Drug
Product Testing. American Pharmaceutical Review. 2005;
8(3):51-54.
5. Donald D. Hong and Mumtaz Shah, Development and validation
of HPLC Stability-indicating Assays, In: Sens T. Carstensen,
C.T.Rhodes, editors Drug Stability-Principle & Practice. 3rd
Edition. New York: Marcel Dekker Inc. 2008; p. 332.
6. K. Huynh-Ba, Development of Stability indicating methods;
In:Handbook of Stability Testing in Pharmaceutical
Development, Springer 2009, 153.
7. http://www.cvg.ca/images/HPLC_Method_Development.pdf Effective HPLC method development.
8. Changhe Wen, Designing HPLC Methods for Stability
Indication and Forced Degradation Samples For API, Collected
from
American
Pharmaceutical
Review
at
http://www.americanpharmaceuticalreview.com
9. Swartz M. and Krull I., Developing and Validating StabilityIndicating Methods. LCGC North America, 2005; 23(6):586593.
10. Supplement to LC/GC. Current trends and developments in
sample preparation, May1998.
11. K. Huynh-Ba (ed.), Development of Stability indicating
methods; In:Handbook of Stability Testing in Pharmaceutical
Development, Springer 2009, 154.
12. John W. Dolan, Stability-Indicating Assays, LC
Troubleshooting 2005, 275.
13. LR Snyder, JL Glajch, JJ Kirkland. Practical HPLC method
Development. New York: John Wiley, 1988, 227-251
14. Seble Wagaw, Jason Tedrow, Tim Grieme, Lalit Bavda, Weifeng
Wang,
Shekhar
Viswanath
et al,
HPLC
Guide,
http://www.chemgroups.northwestern.edu/scheidt/PDFs
HPLC_guide.pdf
15. Snyder LR, Kirkland JJ, Glajch JL., Practical HPLC Method
Development. 2nded. New York: John Wiley, 1997; 233-291.
16. Cameron G, Jackson PE, Gorenstein MV, A new approach to
peak purity assessment using photodiode array detection.
ChemAus, 1993; 288289.
17. Bryant DK, Kingwood MD, Belenguer, A Determination of
liquid chromatographic peak purity by electro spray ionization
mass spectrometry. J Chromatogr A 1996; 721:4151.
18. Ruan J, Tattersall P, Lozano R, Shah P, The role of forced
degradation studies in stability indicating HPLC method
development. Am Pharm Rev 2006; 9:4653.
19. Stepensky D, Chorny M, Dabour Z, Schumacher I ,Long-term
stability study of Ladrenaline injections: kinetics of sulfonation
and racemization pathways of drug degradation. J Pharm Sci,
2004; 93:969980.
20. Xiao KP, Xiong Y, Liu FZ, Rustum AM, Efficient method
development strategy for challenging separations of

Page 79-87

Patel Riddhiben M et al. IRJP 2 (5) 2011 79-87

pharmaceutical molecules using advanced chromatographic
technologies. J Chromatogr A, 2007; 1163:145156.
21. Polite L, Liquid chromatography: basic overview. In: Miller J,
Crowther JB (eds) Analytical chemistry in a GMP environment:
a practical guide. John Wiley & Sons, New York, 2000.
22. The United States Pharmacopoeia, USP 28-NF 23, <1225>,
2005.
23. International Conference on Harmonisation of Technical
Requirements for Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human
Use
(ICH),
Quality
Guidelines,
http://www.ich.org/products/guidelines/quality/article/qualityguidelines.html
24. Reynolds D.W., Facchine K.L, Mullaney J.F., Alsante K.M.,
Hatajik T.D., and Motto M.G., Available Guidance & Best
Practices for Conducting Forced Degradation Studies. Pharm
Technol, 2002; 26(2):48-56.

25. Reynolds D.W., Forced Degradation of Pharmaceuticals. Am

Pharm Rev, 2004; 7(3):56-61.
26. Thatcher S.R, Mansfield R.K., Miller R.B, Davis C.W., and
Baertschi S.W., Pharmaceutical Photostability. Pharm Technol,
2001; 25(3):98-110.
27. George Ngwa, Forced Degradation as an Integral Part of HPLC
Stability-Indicating Method Development. Drug Delivery
Technology. 2010; 10(5):56-59.
28. FDA (2003) Guidance for industry INDs for phase 2 and 3
studies;
chemistry,
manufacturing,
and
control
information.http://www.fda.gov/CDER/guidance/3619fnl.pdf.
29. Kats M, Forced degradation studies: regulatory considerations
and implementation. BioPharm Int, 2005; 18:7.
30. Alsante KM, Ando A, Brown R, Ensing J, Hatajika TD, Kong
W, Tsuda Y, The role of degradant profiling in active
pharmaceutical ingredients and drug products. Adv Drug Deliv
Rev, 2007; 59:2937.

Table 1: Conditions generally employed for forced degradation

CONDITION GENERALLY EMPLOYED FOR DEGRADATION
Experimental
Degradation Type
Storage Condition
Sampling Time
Condition
Control API
(no acid or base)
40 oC, 60 oC
1,3,5 days
0.1N HCL
Hydrolysis

Oxidative

Photolytic

40 oC, 60 oC
o

40 C, 60 C

1,3,5 days

Acid Control(no API)

40 oC, 60 oC

1,3,5 days

Base Conrtol(no API)

40 oC, 60 oC

1,3,5 days

pH: 2,4,6,8

40 oC, 60 oC

1,3,5 days

3% H2O2

25 oC, 40 oC

1,3,5 days

Peroxide Control
Azobisisobutyronitrile
(AIBN)

25 C, 40 C

1,3,5 days

40 oC, 60 oC

1,3,5 days

AIBN control

40 oC, 60 oC

1,3,5 days

Light, 1 X ICH

NA

1,3,5 days

Light, 3 X ICH

NA

1,3,5 days

Light Contol

NA

1,3,5 days

60 oC

1,3,5 days

Heat Chamber

60 C/75% RH

1,3,5 days

Heat Chamber

80 oC

1,3,5 days

80 C/ 75% RH

1,3,5 days

Room Temp.

1,3,5 days

Heat Chamber
Heat Control

IRJP 2 (5) May 2011

1,3,5 days

0.1 N NAOH

Heat Chamber

Thermal

Page 79-87

Patel Riddhiben M et al. IRJP 2 (5) 2011 79-87

Figure 1: Overview of the Method Development Process

Figure 2: Isocratic or Gradient?

IRJP 2 (5) May 2011

Page 79-87

Patel Riddhiben M et al. IRJP 2 (5) 2011 79-87

Figure 3: An illustrative diagram showing the different forced degradation conditions to be used for drug substance and
drug product

Figure 4: Thermal hydrolysis profile of an API (Structure not shown) at 700C: degradation vs. time at three sample concentrations

IRJP 2 (5) May 2011

Page 79-87