A stability-indicating LC-MS/MS method for zidovudine: Identification, characterization and toxicity prediction of two major acid degradation products

Zidvovudine (AZT) is a nucleoside analogue reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI), a class of anti-retroviral drug. A stability-indicating assay method for AZT was developed in line with ICH guideline. Successful separation of AZT and its degradation products was achieved by gradient elution mode on reverse phase C₁₈ column using 10 mM ammonium acetate: acetonitrile as the mobile phase at 0.8 mL/min flow rate, 25 µL injection volume, 30 °C column temperature and 285 nm detection wavelength. Two major acid degradation products were identified and characterized by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (LC-ESI/MS/MS) and accurate mass measurements. The probable mechanisms for the formation of degradation products were identified based on a comparison of the fragmentation pattern of the [M + H] ⁺ ions of AZT and its degradation products. One of the degradation products, DP-1, was isolated by semi-preparative high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) using Waters XBridge Prep C₁₈ (250 mm×10 mm, 5 µm). Degradation products showed higher toxicity compared to the drug in some models assessed by TOPKAT software. The method validation was performed with respect to robustness, specificity, linearity, precision and accuracy as per ICH guideline Q2 (R1).