Forced degradation study of abacavir using the electrochemistry-mass spectrometry setup

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Electrochemistry
• Pharmaceutical Analysis

Background:

• Forced oxidative degradation studies are crucial for understanding drug stability.
• Traditional methods can be time-consuming, necessitating faster screening techniques.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the electrochemical oxidation of abacavir using an online electrochemical flow cell coupled with mass spectrometry (EC-MS).
• To evaluate the online EC-MS setup as a rapid screening tool for drug oxidative degradation.
• To compare the results with offline electrooxidation methods.

Main Methods:

• Electrochemical oxidation of abacavir was performed on a glassy carbon electrode in various solvents (ammonium acetate with methanol, NaClO4 in methanol).
• Online EC-MS analysis was conducted for rapid degradation product identification.
• Offline electrooxidation followed by HPLC-UV/VIS and MS analysis was used for comparison.

Main Results:

• Seven abacavir degradation products were observed using the online EC-MS setup.
• The majority of degradation products identified online were consistent with those found via offline analysis.
• Signal abundance showed agreement between the online and offline methods for the most abundant products.

Conclusions:

• The online EC-MS approach provides a fast and simple method for indicative screening of drug stability.
• This technique can be valuable for assessing susceptibility to oxidative degradation.
• The online EC-MS method offers a promising alternative for rapid drug stability assessment.