Levodopa microparticles for pulmonary delivery: photodegradation kinetics and LC stability-indicating method

Levodopa, (S)-2-amino-3-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl) propanoic acid, is still considered the gold standard treatment for Parkinson's disease. However, oral levodopa shows poor pharmacokinetics and its efficacy becomes problematic with the progression of the disease. Pulmonary delivery using the association of the polymers: chitosan, hyaluronic acid and HPMC, represents a novel approach to overcome this problem. A stability-indicating liquid chromatography method for the quantitative determination of levodopa microparticles for pulmonary delivery was developed as well as its photodegradation kinetics in solution. The developed and validated method was applied for the analyses of the novel formulation as well as for protocols of stability studies.