DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF AN LC-MS/MS METHOD FOR NITROSAMINE IMPURITY DETECTION IN TAMSULOSIN HYDROCHLORIDE

Authors

  • SWETHA SRI REMIDICHERLA Department of Pharmaceutical Analysis, College of Pharmacy, Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation, Vaddeswaram, Guntur-522502, India. Department of Pharmaceutical Quality Assurance, Sarojini Naidu Vanita Pharmacy Maha Vidyalaya, Tarnaka, Secunderabad-500017, India https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9889-9541
  • GUNTUPALLI CHAKRAVARTHI Department of Pharmaceutical Analysis, College of Pharmacy, Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation, Vaddeswaram, Guntur-522502, India https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3777-3157
  • ARRAM MADHAVI Department of Pharmaceutical Analysis, Geethanjali College of Pharmacy, Keesara, Hyderabad-501301, India https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3880-5328
  • NARENDER MALOTHU Department of Pharmaceutical Analysis, College of Pharmacy, Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation, Vaddeswaram, Guntur-522502, India https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3069-5742

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22159/ijap.2025v17i2.52810

Keywords:

Fragment ion, Tamsulosin, Nitrosamine impurities, APCI ( ve)

Abstract

Objective: Regulatory oversight of pharmaceuticals containing nitrosamine contaminants has intensified in the past few years. Unites States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA), European Medicines Agency (EMA) and other regulatory agencies has been quite proactive in sending out warnings, instructions, and safety messages. This study presents a fast, accurate, and selective way to detect and quantify nitrosamine contaminants in Tamsulosin HCl.

Methods: The purification of Tamsulosin using Di Methyl Formamide (DMF) requires monitoring to avoid nitrosamine formation. A 150 × 4.6 mm Symmetry® C18 column (5 µm, 40±1 °C) was used with a mobile phase involving water (98%), acetonitrile (2%) with 0.1% formic acid, where flow velocity was 0.8 ml/min and 10 µl** injection volume. After 1.20 min, the mobile phase composition gradually changed to 90% B (acetonitrile) and 10% A (water). Chromatographic separation took 10 min with a 5±0.5 °C auto-sampler temperature. Atmospheric Pressure Chemical Ionization (APCI) in positive ion mode, with clustering potentials of 36–50 V and collision energy of 9–30 eV, was used for quantification.

Results: Following International Conference Harmonization (ICHQ2R1), showed regression value more than 0.997 and a signal-to-noise ratio of 3.7-4.5 ppm. Approach achieved Limit of Detection (LOD) values over 3.3-12.7 ppm and Limit of Quantification (LOQ) values over 9.9-36.9 ppm, with signal-to-noise ratios greater than 3.7% and greater than 12.9. All of the method recoveries fell between 80% and 120%.

Conclusion: This Liquid Chromatography with Tandem Mass Spectroscopy (LC-MS/MS) technology detects and quantifies nitrosamine impurities in Tamsulosin quickly, sensitively and specifically, assuring regulatory compliance pursuant to USP General chapter<1469>. Impurities in Tamsulosin can be detected at a minimum level using the current technology, which allows for regular analysis.

References

United States pharmacopoeia. General Chapter, nitrosamine impurities. USP-NF. Rockville, MD: United States pharmacopoeia; 2022. Available from: doi: 10.31003/uspnf_m15715_02_01.

United States Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration. Genotoxic and carcinogenic impurities in drug substances and products: recommended approaches. Silver Spring: United States Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration; 2008. Available from: https://www.federalregister.gov/d/E8-29674.

Jih RH, Magendran B, Chakraborty SK, Das AR, Tsay SC, Sheu KW. Process for preparation of tamsulosin and its derivatives. European patent EP1734036A1; 2005.

Guideline IH. Assessment and control of DNA reactive (mutagenic) impurities in pharmaceuticals to limit potential carcinogenic risk M7. International conference on harmonization of technical requirements for registration of pharmaceuticals for human use (ICH): Geneva; 2014. doi: 10.1002/9781119551249.ch2.

Mirvish SS. Formation of N-nitroso compounds: chemistry, kinetics, and in vivo occurrence. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 1975;31(3):325-51. doi: 10.1016/0041-008X(75)90255-0, PMID 238307.

Mitch WA, Sedlak DL. Formation of N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) from dimethylamine during chlorination. Environ Sci Technol. 2002;36(4):588-95. doi: 10.1021/es010684q, PMID 11878371.

US Food and Drug Administration. FDA Updates and Press Announcements on Angiotensin II Receptor Blocker (ARB) Recalls (Valsartan, Losartan, and Irbesartan). Silver Spring, (MD): United States Food and Drug Administration; 2019. doi: 10.1002/9781119551249.

European Medicines Agency. Update on review of valsartan medicines following detection of impurity in active substance, EMA/485921/2018. London: European Medicines Agency; 2018.

European Medicines Agency. EMA review of impurities in sartan medicines. EMA/643116/2018. London: European Medicines Agency; 2018.

US Food and Drug Administration. Control of nitrosamine impurities in human drugs: guidance for industry. Silver Spring, (MD): United States Food and Drug Administration; 2021. Available from: https://www.fda.gov/media/141720/download.

Nadendla RR, Mounika M, Ranjithadubba VS, Jahnavi M, Sowjanyasonti S, Yakshithayarra Y. Development and verification of UV spectrophotometric technique for determining N-acetylcysteine in tablet formulations. Int J Pharm Pharm Sci. 2024 Jun 11;16(10):30-5. doi: 10.22159/ijpps.2024v16i10.51004.

Bari SB, Bakshi AR, Jain PS, Surana SJ. Application of UV-spectroscopy and first order derivative method for determination of tamsulosin hydrochloride in bulk and tablets. Pharm Anal Acta. 2011;2(2):1-2. doi: 10.4172/2153-2435.1000120.

Gadhave NA, Ghante MR, Nikam AD, Sawant SD. Simultaneous estimation of tamsulosin hydrochloride and finasteride in combined dosage form by UV spectroscopy method. J Pharm Res. 2011;4(8):2672-4.

Puranik M, Shambharkar S, Nimbalkar S, Mahapatra DK. Comparison of UV-spectrophotometric and RP-HPLC methods for estimation of deflazacort in solid dosage form. J Appl Pharm Sci. 2020 Jul 4;10(07):82-8. doi: 10.7324/JAPS.2020.10711.

El-Henawee MM, Abd El-Hay SS, Attala K, Eissa MS. Smart UV spectrophotometric methods based on simple mathematical filtration and classical methods for the simultaneous determination of tamsulosin and solifenacin: a comparative study of efficacy and spectral resolution. Spectrochim Acta A Mol Biomol Spectrosc. 2021 Feb 15;247:119151. doi: 10.1016/j.saa.2020.119151, PMID 33188970.

Mhaske PD, Bohari BA, Chaudhari SR, Jain PS, Shirkhedkar AA. Implementation UV-spectrophotometry approach for determination of tamsulosin HCl in tablets using area under curve technique. Asian Jour Pharmac Anal. 2020 May 7;10(2):86-90. doi: 10.5958/2231-5675.2020.00015.0.

Amanlou M, Ghazi Moghadam A, Barazandeh Tehrani M, Souri E. Validated spectrophtometric method for determination of tamsulosin in bulk and pharmaceutical dosage forms. Iran J Pharm Res. 2014;13(1):81-6. PMID 24734058, PMCID PMC3985241.

Rezk MR, Tantawy MA, Wadie M, Weshahy SA. Smart spectrophotometric assessment of tamsulosin hydrochloride and tadalafil in their new pharmaceutical formulation for treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia and erectile dysfunction. Spectrochim Acta A Mol Biomol Spectrosc. 2020 Feb 15;227:117547. doi: 10.1016/j.saa.2019.117547, PMID 31734571.

Thimmaraju MK, Rao V, Gurrala S, Reddy GJ. UV spectrophotometric method for simultaneous determination of finasteride and tamsulosin in combined dosage form. Int J Pharm Biol Sci. 2011;1(3):303-10.

Rani GD, Rao CN, Rao CN, Venkateswarlu P. Development and validation of ultraviolet-spectrophotometric method for the determination of tamsulosin. Indian J Adv Chem Sci. 2015;3(4):323-7.

Chandorkar JG, Kotwal VB, Dhande NS, Gurav SG, Pande VV, Yadav PV. A sensitive HPLC method for simultaneous estimation of tamsulosin hydrochloride and its impurity. Pak J Pharm Sci. 2008 Jul 1;21(3):307-10. PMID 18614430.

TA, RP, Tirunagari M, Buggana SJ, Mitta C, Remidicherla SS. QbD-driven approach to cleaning method development and validation for darunavir analysis in oral films. Int J Pharm Qual Assur. 2024 Aug 31;15(3):1575-80. doi: 10.25258/ijpqa.15.3.72.

Jothula H, Navuluri S, Mulakayala NR. Stability based HPLC method for cyclophosphamide related substances in finished drug products: development and validation. Int J Curr Pharm Sci. 2024 May 1;16(3):42-51. doi: 10.22159/ijcpr.2024v16i3.4061.

Sawant V, Mali C, jain V. Development and validation of novel RP-HPLC method for the simultaneous estimation of salicylic acid and beclomethasone dipropionate in a topical ointment dosage form. Asian J Pharm Clin Res. 2024;17(1):125-8. doi: 10.22159/ajpcr.2024.v17i1.48682.

Sangshetti J, Chivte DK, Anees MI, Langade M, Khan F, Zainuddin R. Development of HPLC method for determination of tamsulosin using quality by design (QbD) approach. Eur Chem Bull. 2019;8(12):409-15. doi: 10.17628/ecb.2019.8.409-415.

Kumari R, Dash PP, Lal VK, Mishra A, Murthy PN. RP-HPLC method for the estimation of tamsulosin hydrochloride in tablet dosage form. Indian J Pharm Sci. 2010 Nov;72(6):785-7. doi: 10.4103/0250-474X.84596, PMID 21969754, PMCID PMC3178983.

Din L, Li L, Tao P, Yang J, Zhang Z. Quantitation of tamsulosin in human plasma by liquid chromatography–electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. J Chromatogr B Analyt Technol Biomed Life Sci. 2002 Feb 5;767(1):75-81. doi: 10.1016/s0378-4347(01)00546-1, PMID 11863298.

Upreti R, Homer NZ, Naredo G, Cobice DF, Hughes KA, Stewart LH. Measurement of tamsulosin in human serum by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. J Chromatogr B Analyt Technol Biomed Life Sci. 2013 Jul 1;930:121-8. doi: 10.1016/j.jchromb.2013.04.020, PMID 23743242.

Sunil Mahajan B, Miniyar PB. Identification, separation, and characterization of degradation products of triamcinolone hexacetonide using LC and LC-MS/MS. Int J App Pharm. 2024 Mar 1;16(3):326-31. doi: 10.22159/ijap.2024v16i3.50122.

Mohamed D, Mowaka S, Mostafa A. Simultaneous quantitative analysis of tamsulosin and finasteride in pharmaceutical dosage form by U-HPLC tandem mass spectrometry. Eur J Chem. 2014;5(1):181-5. doi: 10.5155/eurjchem.5.1.181-185.942.

Nageswara Rao R, Kumar Talluri MV, Narasa Raju A, Shinde DD, Ramanjaneyulu GS. Development of a validated RP-LC/ESI-MS-MS method for separation, identification and determination of related substances of tamsulosin in bulk drugs and formulations. J Pharm Biomed Anal. 2008;46(1):94-103. doi: 10.1016/j.jpba.2007.09.009, PMID 17951020.

Matsushima H, Takanuki KI, Kamimura H, Watanabe T, Higuchi S. Highly sensitive method for the determination of tamsulosin hydrochloride in human plasma dialysate, plasma and urine by high-performance liquid chromatography–electrospray tandem mass spectrometry. J Chromatogr B Biomed Sci Appl. 1997 Aug 1;695(2):317-27. doi: 10.1016/s0378-4347(97)00200-4, PMID 9300868.

Ramakrishna NV, Vishwottam KN, Manoj S, Koteshwara M, Wishu S, Varma DP. Rapid, simple and highly sensitive LC-ESI-MS/MS method for the quantification of tamsulosin in human plasma. Biomed Chromatogr. 2005 Dec;19(10):709-19. doi: 10.1002/bmc.498, PMID 15828055.

Patel DB, Patel NJ. Validated stability indicating HPTLC method for the determination of tamsulosin hydrochloride in pharmaceutical dosage forms. Int J Chem Tech Res. 2010 Jan;2(1):646-52.

Choudhari VP, Nikalje AP. Stability-indicating HPTLC method for the determination of tamsulosin in pharmaceutical dosage forms. Chromatographia. 2009 Jun;69(11-12):1463-7. doi: 10.1365/s10337-009-1060-9.

El-Kimary EI, Khamis EF, Belal SF, Abdel Moneim MM. Novel validated HPTLC method for the analysis of two binary mixtures containing tamsulosin hydrochloride with antimuscarinic agents. J Chromatogr Sci. 2018 Jan 1;56(1):81-91. doi: 10.1093/chromsci/bmx081, PMID 28977351.

Patel DB, Patel NJ. Validated reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic and high-performance thin-layer chromatographic methods for simultaneous analysis of tamsulosin hydrochloride and dutasteride in pharmaceutical dosage forms. Acta Chromatogr. 2010 Sep 1;22(3):419-31. doi: 10.1556/AChrom.22.2010.3.6.

Abou El-Alamin MM, Toubar SS, Mohamed DA, Helmy MI. Development of Green HPTLC method for simultaneous determination of a promising combination tamsulosin and mirabegron: stability-indicating assay was examined. BMC Chem. 2023 Sep 30;17(1):130. doi: 10.1186/s13065-023-01043-9, PMID 37777770.

Tuesuwan B, Vongsutilers V. Current threat of nitrosamines in pharmaceuticals and scientific strategies for risk mitigation. J Pharm Sci. 2023 May 1;112(5):1192-209. doi: 10.1016/j.xphs.2023.01.028, PMID 36739905.

Chidella KS, Dasari VB, Anireddy J. Ultra-sensitive LC-MS/MS method for the trace level quantification of six potential genotoxic nitrosamine impurities in telmisartan. Am J Anal Chem. 2021 Jun 10;12(6):227-40. doi: 10.4236/ajac.2021.126014.

Remidicherla SS, Chakravarthi G, Reddy AR, Reddy AR, Rao GK. Method development and validation for quantification of imatinib mesylate spiked in vitro saliva by LC-MS/MS. Indian Drugs. 2024 Apr;61(4):46-56. doi: 10.53879/id.61.04.13917.

Khorolskiy M, Ramenskaya G, Vlasov A, Perederyaev O, Maslennikova N. Development and validation of four nitrosamine impurities determination method in medicines of valsartan, losartan, and irbesartan with HPLC-MS/MS (APCI). Iran J Pharm Res. 2021;20(3):541-52. doi: 10.22037/ijpr.2021.115102.15195, PMID 34904007, PMCID PMC8653666.

Öncü T, Yüksel B, Binay E, Şen N. LC-MS/MS Investigation of nitrosamine impurities in certain Sartan group medicinal products available in Istanbul, Türkiye. Ann Pharm Fr. 2024;82(1):72-83. doi: 10.1016/j.pharma.2023.08.002, PMID 37567559.

Baksam VK, Saritha N, Devineni SR, Jain M, Kumar P, Shandilya S. A critical n-nitrosamine impurity of anticoagulant drug, rivaroxaban: synthesis, characterization, development of LC–MS/MS method for nanogram level quantification. Chromatographia. 2022;85(1):73-82. doi: 10.1007/s10337-021-04115-x.

Gopireddy RR, Maruthapillai A, Mahapatra S. A multi-analyte LC-MS/MS method for determination and quantification of six nitrosamine impurities in sartans like azilsartan, valsartan, telmisartan, olmesartan, losartan and irbesartan. J Chromatogr Sci. 2024;62(2):147-67. doi: 10.1093/chromsci/bmac059, PMID 35830866.

Rao AA, Kumar KP, Rao AN, Malothu N, Kumar Desu BP, Bandaru NR. Rapid quantitative estimation of glipizide and sitagliptin in rat plasma by liquid chromatography and mass spectroscopy (LC-MS). Res J Pharm Technol. 2022;15(4):1675-9. doi: 10.52711/0974-360X.2022.00280.

Remidicherla SS, Chakravarthi G, Malothu N. A validated LC-MS/MS method for determination at trace level of nitrosamine impurities in doxofylline API. Indian J Pharm Educ Res. 2024;58(4s):s1262-70. doi: 10.5530/ijper.58.4s.121.

Published

07-03-2025

How to Cite

REMIDICHERLA, S. S., CHAKRAVARTHI, G., MADHAVI, A., & MALOTHU, N. (2025). DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF AN LC-MS/MS METHOD FOR NITROSAMINE IMPURITY DETECTION IN TAMSULOSIN HYDROCHLORIDE. International Journal of Applied Pharmaceutics, 17(2), 432–440. https://doi.org/10.22159/ijap.2025v17i2.52810

Issue

Section

Original Article(s)

Similar Articles

<< < 22 23 24 25 26 > >> 

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.