Characterization of process-related impurities including forced degradation products of alogliptin benzoate and the development of the corresponding reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography method

The characterization of process-related impurities and forced degradants of alogliptin benzoate (Alb) in bulk drugs and a stability-indicating HPLC method for the separation and quantification of all the impurities were investigated. Alb was found to be unstable under acid and alkali stress conditions and two major degradation products (Imp-F and Imp-G) were observed. The optimum separation was achieved on Kromasil C₁₈ (250 × 4.6 mm, 5 μm) using 0.1% perchloric acid (pH adjusted to 3.0 with triethylamine) and acetonitrile as a mobile phase in gradient mode. The proposed method was found to be stability indicating, precise, linear (0.10-75.0 μg/mL), accurate, sensitive, and robust for the quantitation of Alb and its process-related substances and degradation products. The structures of 11 impurities were characterized and confirmed by NMR spectroscopy, MS, and IR spectroscopy, and the most probable formation mechanisms of all impurities were proposed according to the synthesis route.