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Research article Open Access

Development and Validation of a
Stability-Indicating LC-Method for the
Simultaneous Estimation of Levodropropizine,
Chloropheniramine, Methylparaben,
Propylparaben, and Levodropropizine Impurities
Palakurthi Ashok KUMAR * 1, Thummala Veera Raghava RAJU 1,
Dongala THIRUPATHI 1, Ravindra KUMAR 1, Jaya SHREE 2
1
Analytical Research and Development, Integrated Product Development, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd.,
Bachupally, Hyderabad-500 072, India.
2
Centre for Chemical Science and Technology, J. N. T. University, Kukatpally, Hyderabad, A.P., India.
* Corresponding author. E-mail: ashokchem2000@gmail.com (P. A. Kumar)
Sci Pharm. 2013; 81: 139–150 doi:10.3797/scipharm.1210-18
th
Published: November 17 2012 Received: October 18th 2012
Accepted: November 17th 2012
This article is available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.3797/scipharm.1210-18
© Kumar et al.; licensee Österreichische Apotheker-Verlagsgesellschaft m. b. H., Vienna, Austria.
This is an O pen Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction
in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract
A simple, fast, and ef ficient RP-HPLC method has been developed and
validated for the simultaneous estimation of Levodropropizine,
Chloropheniramine, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, and the quantification of
Levodropropizine impurities in the Reswas syrup dosage form. A gradient
elution method was used for the separation of all the actives and
Levodropropizine impurities by using the X-Bridge C18, 150 mm × 4.6 mm, 3.5
μm column with a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min and detector wavelength at 223 nm.
The mobile phase consisted of a pot assium dihydrogen orthophosphate buffer
and acetonitrile. All the peaks were symmetrical and w ell-resolved (resolution
was greater than 2.5 for any pair of components) with a s horter run time. The
limit of detection for Levodropropizine and its Impurity B was 0.07 μg/ml & 0.05
μg/ml, whereas the limit of quantification was 0.19 μg/ml & 0.15 μg/ml
respectively. The m ethod was validated in terms of precision, accuracy,
linearity, robustness, and s pecificity. Degradation products resulting from the
stress studies were well-resolved and did not interfere with the detection of
Levodropropizine, Chloropheniramine, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, and
Levodropropizine Impurity B, thus the test method is stability-indicating.
140 P. A. Kumar et al.:

Validation of the method was carried out as per International Conference on

Harmonization (ICH) guidelines.

Keywords
L-Dropropizine • Chloropheniramine • HPLC • ICH Guidelines • Development • Validation

Introduction
Levodropropizine (LDP), a phenylpiperazinopropane derivative, is a non-opioid antitussive
agent. Chemically, levodropropizine is (2S)-3-(4-phenylpiperazin-1-yl)propane-1,2-diol and
is the ‘levo’-isomer of dropropizine. Levodropropizine has been proven to be an effective
antitussive against non-productive cough associated with different lung pathologies [1].
Chloropheniramine (CP) is a first-generation antihistamine belonging to the class of
alkylamines. It is used in the prevention of symptoms of allergic conditions such as rhinitis
and utricaria. Its sedative effects are relatively weak compared to other first-generation
antihistamines. It is used not only for the treatment of cough, but also for other related
allergy symptoms such as sneezing, itchy and/or watery eyes, itchy nose or throat, and
runny nose caused by hay fever (allergic rhinitis), or other respiratory allergies.
Methylparaben (MP) and Propylparaben (PP) are the preservatives used to prevent
decomposition by microbial growth or by undesirable chemical changes. Preservatives can
desirably be incorporated into the composition to protect against the growth of potentially
harmful microorganisms. Microorganisms tend to grow in an aqueous phase, so to prevent
their growth, a preservative has to be ad ded to the pharmaceutical composition. The
chemical structures of all the actives are shown in Fig. 1.

N OH N
N OH
N

Cl

Levodropropizine Chlorpheniramine
LDP CP
(2S)-3-(4-phenylpiperazin-1-yl)propane-1,2-diol 3-(4-chlorophenyl)-N,N-dimethyl-
3-(pyridin-2-yl)propan-1-amine

O O

O O

HO HO

Methylparaben Propylparaben
MP PP
methyl 4-hydroxybenzoate propyl 4-hydroxybenzoate

Fig. 1. Structures and IUPAC names of LDP, CP, MP, PP

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 Development and Validation of a Stability-Indicating LC-Method for the Simultaneous Estimation … 141

The objective of this work is to develop and validate a s imple, precise, and accurate
stability-indicating HPLC method for the estimation of LDP, CP, MP, PP, and Impurity B of
LDP with a shorter run time. Literature surveys revealed that there is no HPLC method for
the simultaneous determination of LDP, CP, MP, PP, and I mpurity B of LDP. Several
analytical methods such as liquid chromatography with a UV spectrophotometer [2–7],
have been reported for the determination of LDP and CP individually. According to the
literature [8], Levodropropizine has three impurities: Impurity A (Dextropropizine), Impurity
B (1-Phenylpiperazine), Impurity C (Glycidol). Impurity A & C were estimated by the
normal-phase-HPLC & GC respectively. Impurity B and any other unknown impurities were
estimated by the RP-HPLC method.

Experimental
Chemicals, reagents, and samples
LDP Impurity B was obtained from Spectro Chem. India PVT Ltd. LC grade potassium
dihydrogen orthophosphate and 1-Hexanesulphonic acid sodium salt, methanol, and
acetonitrile were purchased from Merck India Limited. Pure water was prepared by using
a Millipore Milli-Q Plus Water Purification System (Bedford, MA, USA).

Equipments
The LC system was a Waters model 2996 equipped with a PDA Detector (Waters
Corporation, Milford, USA). The output signal was monitored and pro cessed using
Empower software (Waters Corporation, Milford, USA) on a Pentium computer (Digital
Equipment Co.).

Chromatographic conditions
The chromatographic column X-Bridge C18 column (150 x 4.6) mm with 3.5μm particles
was used. Mobile phase-A consisted of a mixture of 0.025M aqueous potassium
dihydrogen orthophosphate buffer and 0.005M 1-Hexanesulphonic acid sodium salt buffer.
Mobile phase-B consisted of a mixture of water and acetonitrile (10:90, v/v). The m obile
phase was filtered through a 0.45 μm nylon membrane filter. The flow rate of the mobile
phase was 1.0mL/min with a column temperature of 40°C and the detection wavelength at
223nm. The injection volume was 10μL. A water and methanol (80:20, v/v) mixture was
used as a diluent during the preparation of the standard and s ample. The LC gradient
programme is as follows:

Time %A %B Time %A %B
0 min 80 20 12 min 90 10
5 min 45 55 13 min 80 20
10 min 90 10 16 min 80 20

Preparation of Standard
CP and PP stock preparation
0.4 mg/mL of CP and 0.2 mg/mL of PP solution were prepared in methanol.

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142 P. A. Kumar et al.:

LDP and MP stock preparation

6.0 mg/mL of LDP and 2.0mg/mL of MP solution were prepared in methanol.

Standard preparation (For assay)

10mL of each of the above two stock solutions were transferred into a 100mL volumetric
flask and diluted to volume with water and mixed well.

Standard preparation (For impurities)

0.3 mg/mL of the LDP standard solution was prepared in diluent. Then 1.0mL of this
solution was further transferred to a 100mL volumetric flask and di luted to volume with
diluent and mixed well.

Sample Preparation
About 10mL of the syrup was weighed and transferred into a 100 mL volumetric flask, to
which was added about 70mL of diluent. It was then sonicated for 5min and diluted to
volume with diluent and mixed well.

Results and Discussion

Optimization of chromatographic conditions
The main difficulty in this study was to get symmetrical peaks for all the actives and better
separation between LDP Impurity B and LDP in a single method without any interference.
The presence of the amine group functionality in LDP and CP led to peak tailing. Initially
as part of the method development, different stationary phases like C8, C18 were tried by
using the gradient elution method with a phosphate buffer and found that the peak shapes
were not symmetrical (more tailing observed). Different ionic strengths (ranging from
0.025M to 0.1M) were employed with phosphate, acetate, perchlorate, and formic acid
buffers to reduce the peak tailings, but the ionic strength did not play any role in peak
tailing. From the above experiments, it was observed that getting a symmetrical peak for
the LDP buffer played a role and for CP, MP, and PP the organic phase played a role. We
tried different gradient programmes by increasing the organic phase, where LDP and LDP
Impurity B were merging.

We further tested different chromatographic parameters like column temperature (40°C to

60°C), column particle size (5μm & 3.5μm), pH (3.5 to 7.5) of buffer, and ion pair reagent
incorporation in the mobile phase buffer to improve peak shapes and r esolution. Finally,
the chromatographic separation was achieved by a reverse phase X-Bridge C18 150 x 4.6
mm, 3.5μm particle size column operated at 40°C with gradient elution at 1.0 mLmin−1
using mobile phase A as a m ixture of 0.025M aqueous potassium dihydrogen ortho-
phosphate and 0.005M 1-Hexanesulphonic acid sodium salt in 1000ml water. Mobile phase
B consisted of a mixture of water and acetonitrile (10:90, v/v). The detection wavelength was
at 223nm and the injection volume was 10μL. The LC gradient program was set as: time
(min)/% mobile phase B: 0.01/20, 5/55, 10/10, 12/10, 13/20, and 16/20. All the peaks
(including active, blank, and the Impurity) were well-separated with a r esolution greater
than 2.5. No chromatographic interference was observed due t o the blank (diluent) and
other excipients (placebo) at the retention time of the active peaks and their impurities.
Typical chromatograms are shown in Fig. 2–5.

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 Development and Validation of a Stability-Indicating LC-Method for the Simultaneous Estimation … 143

Fig. 2. A typical chromatogram of the blank

Fig. 3. A typical chromatogram of the assay standard

Fig. 4. A typical chromatogram of the Impurity-spiked sample

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144 P. A. Kumar et al.:

Fig. 5. A typical overlaid zoomed chromatogram of the blank and spiked sample

Establishment of Relative Response Factor for LDP Impurity B

We prepared and injected a s eries of solutions consisting of LDP Impurity B and LD P in
the range of 0.4% to 1.2% (0.4%, 0.6%, 0.8%. 1.0%, 1.2%). The load of 10 μl injection
volume of the sample was injected into the liquid chromatograph and we then calculated
the Relative Response Factor (RRF) of LDP Impurity B with respect to LDP from the
calibration curve data. The R RF value of LDP Impurity B was found to be 1.26. The
Relative Retention Time (RRT) of LDP Impurity B was found to be 1.1

Method Validation
After satisfactory development of the method, it was subjected to method validation as per
ICH guidelines [9]. The m ethod was validated to demonstrate that it is suitable for its
intended purpose by the standard procedure to evaluate adequate validation
characteristics (system suitability, specificity, accuracy, precision, linearity, robustness,
ruggedness, solution stability, LOD and LOQ, and stability-indicating capability).

Specificity, linearity, precision, accuracy, robustness, and ruggedness were done as a part
of the method validation.

Tab. 1. The results table for System Suitability of the Assay standard
Component Tailing factor USP plate count % RSD
Levodropropazine 1.3 16364 0.7
Methylparaben 1.0 28198 0.7
Chlorpheniramine 1.2 254055 0.8
Propylparaben 1.1 21567 0.8

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 Development and Validation of a Stability-Indicating LC-Method for the Simultaneous Estimation … 145

System suitability
The system suitability parameters (Table 1) were evaluated by making the injection of the
assay standard and the RS standard. The system was deemed to be suitable as the tailing
factors for all the peaks were between 0.8 to 1.5 and the resolution between LDP and LDP
Impurity B was >2.5.

Specificity
In order to determine whether the developed analytical method was stability-indicating,
Reswas syrup and the LDP active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) was stressed under
various conditions to conduct forced degradation studies. LDP is very soluble in water. The
specificity was examined by analyzing the solution of a placebo, which consisted of all the
excipients as per ICH guidelines [9]. The degradation study conducted for Levo-
dropropizine used stress conditions like UV light, sunlight, thermal stress, water hydrolysis,
acid hydrolysis, base hydrolysis, oxidation and humidity. The ac idic, basic, and oxidative
stress condition studies were carried out by refluxing the syrup for 6hours with 5N HCl,
0.1NNaOH, and 3% hydrogen peroxide respectively. The t hermal stress was carried out
by heating the drug product to 105°C for 24hours and the photodegradation was
performed by exposing the drug product to 1.2million lux hours and 200 watt hours/m2 in a
photostability chamber. It is interesting to note that all the peaks due to degradation were
well-resolved. The chromatograms of the stressed samples were evaluated for peak purity
using Waters Empower Networking Software. For all forced degradation samples, the
purity angle was found to be less than the threshold angle and there was no purity flag for
the LDP and its impurities. This confirms the stability-indicating power of the developed
method. The results of the forced degradation study are shown in Table 2.

Tab. 2. The results table for the specificity of Levodropropazine

Sample Stress Purity Purity Purity
No. Conditions angle threshold flag
1 As such sample 1.135 3.215 NO
2 Acid stress 0.899 3.371 NO
3 Base stress 1.079 3.282 NO
4 Oxidation stress 0.718 1.250 NO
5 Sunlight stress 1.023 3.125 NO
6 UV light stress 1.158 3.098 NO
7 Thermal stress 0.963 3.264 NO
8 Humidity stress 1.564 3.598 NO
9 Water stress 1.132 3.201 NO

Precision
The precision of the test method was evaluated by analyzing six samples of Reswas syrup
by spiking the LDP Impurity B at a target concentration level (i.e. 0.5%) with respect to the
test concentration of LDP (0.6mg/mL). The % R.S.D of LDP, LDP Impurity B, MP, CP, and
PP from six sample preparations was found to be below 2.0 which indicates the precision
of the method for the quantification of LDP, LDP Impurity B, MP, CP, and PP. The results
are shown in Table 4.

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146 P. A. Kumar et al.:

Tab. 3. The results table for the specificity of Levodropropazine Impurity B

Sample Stress Purity Purity Purity
No. Conditions angle threshold flag
1 As such sample 0.566 0.792 NO
2 Acid hydrolysis 0.614 0.785 NO
3 Base hydrolysis 0.610 0.674 NO
4 Oxidation 0.645 0.831 NO
5 Sunlight stress 0.592 0.801 NO
6 UV light stress 0.621 0.798 NO
7 Thermal stress 0.658 0.804 NO
8 Humidity stress 0.603 0.765 NO
9 Water hydrolysis 0.575 0.691 NO

Tab. 4. The results table of the precision of the test method

Component Average %RSD
% Assay of Levodropropazine 102.3 1.0
% of LDP IMP B 0.49 2.6
% Assay of Methylparaben 100.5 1.1
% Assay of Chlorpheniramine 100.9 1.7
% Assay of Propylparaben 96.2 1.1

Limit of detection and quantification

A series of different concentrations of LDP and LDP Impurity B solutions was prepared in
diluent. The l imit of detection and l imit of quantification were established based on a
signal-to-noise ratio. The LOQ concentrations for LDP & LDP Impurity B were found to be
0.032% & 0.025%. Concentrations at the LOD and LOQ levels are reported in Tab. 5.

Tab. 5. LOD and LOQ of LDP and LDP IMP B

Name of the Test Name S/N Ratio % at
component Conc. at LOD Conc. at LOQ LOQ
LOD LOQ
(µg/ml) (µg/ml)
LDP 0.07 0.19 3.15 10.32 0.032
LDP IMP B 0.05 0.15 3.30 9.91 0.025

Linearity
The linearity of LDP and LDP Impurity B was conducted from the LOQ level to 150% and
for MP, CP, PP it was conducted from 50% to 150% of the target concentration
(0.6mg/mL, 0.04mg/mL, 0.2mg/mL & 0.02mg/mL for LDP, CPM, and MP & PP
respectively). The l inearity graphs were plotted for concentration (%) versus detector
response (area). The c orrelation coefficient for all the peaks was found to be 0. 999.
Linearity plots are shown in Fig. 6 to Fig. 10.

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 Development and Validation of a Stability-Indicating LC-Method for the Simultaneous Estimation … 147

Fig. 6. Linearity of Detector Response of LDP

Fig. 7. Linearity of Detector Response of LDP IMP B

Fig. 8. Linearity of Detector Response of MP

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148 P. A. Kumar et al.:

Fig. 9. Linearity of Detector Response of CP

Fig. 10. Linearity of Detector Response of PP

Accuracy
The accuracy study for LDP and LDP Impurity B was conducted from the LOQ level to
150% and for MP, CP, PP it was conducted from 50% to 150% by spiking the APIs of
LDP, CP, MP & PP and LDP Impurity B at different levels starting from the LOQ to 150%
of the target concentration level (i.e. 0.6mg/mL, 0.04mg/mL, 0.2mg/mL, 0.02mg/mL &
0.003mg/mL, for LDP, CP, MP, PP & LDP Impurity B respectively). % recovery of LDP,
CPM, MP, PP & LDP Impurity B was found to be between 95% to 105%. Results are
tabulated in Table 6.

Tab. 6. The results table of the Accuracy of the test method

Spike Levo- LDP IMP B Methyl- Chlor- Propyl-
level dropropazine paraben pheniramine paraben
Mean %RSD Mean %RSD Mean %RSD Mean %RSD Mean %RSD
LOQ% 0.032 1.4 0.025 1.1 NA NA NA NA NA NA
50% 102.3 0.1 0.234 0.9 100.9 0.2 102.4 0.4 99.2 0.4
75% 102.4 0.4 0.352 1.6 100.3 0.4 103.9 0.7 100.2 0.4
100% 101.2 0.4 0.540 1.6 99.2 0.4 104.5 0.3 99.2 0.3
125% 100.0 0.4 0.648 0.9 98.5 0.3 104.0 0.2 98.4 0.4
150% 98.4 0.2 0.734 1.5 99.2 0.1 105.2 0.2 99.9 0.2

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 Development and Validation of a Stability-Indicating LC-Method for the Simultaneous Estimation … 149

Robustness
The robustness was investigated by varying the conditions with respect to a change in the
flow rate, column temperature, and acetonitrile composition in mobile phase B. The study
was conducted at the different flow rates of 0.8ml/min and 1.2ml/min instead of 1.0ml/min
to study the effect of the change in flow rate. The c olumn temperature was adjusted to
35°C and 45°C instead of the 40°C initial column oven temperature. The organic phase
composition (acetonitrile) was studied from 90% to 110% in mobile phase B to study the
effect of the organic phase composition variation in the mobile phase. The method was
found to be r obust with respect to flow rate, column temperature, and organic phase
composition without any changes in system suitability parameters such as tailing factor
and resolution (Table 7).

Tab. 7. System suitability results from robustness

Flow Column Organic phase
rate temperature (ACN) variation
Parameter
(ml/min) (°C) (±10%)
0.8 1.0 1.2 35 40 45 90 100 110
Tailing factor for LDP peak 1.5 1.3 1.5 1.2 1.3 1.2 1.2 1.3 1.2
Resolution between LDP& LDP IMP B 3.4 3.4 3.6 2.8 3.4 2.8 2.8 3.4 2.8
Tailing factor for MP peak 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.1 1.0 1.1 1.1 1.0 1.1
Tailing factor for CP peak 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.1 1.2 1.1 1.1 1.2 1.1
Tailing factor for PP peak 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.1 1.0 1.0 1.0

Conclusion
A simple, selective, gradient mode high-performance liquid chromatographic method
provides the selective quantification of LDP, LDP Impurity B, MP, CP, and PP without
interference from the blank, placebo, and any other degradants, thereby affirming the
stability-indicating nature of the method. The pr oposed method is highly selective,
reproducible, specific, and rapid. This developed method can be applied successfully to
the quality control of commercial and r outine analysis. The information presented herein
could be v ery useful for monitoring the quality of bulk samples as well as checking the
quality during stability studies.

Acknowledgement
The authors wish to thank the management of Dr. Reddy’s group for supporting this work.

Authors’ Statement
Competing Interests
The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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150 P. A. Kumar et al.:

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