Analysis of duloxetine hydrochloride and its related compounds in pharmaceutical dosage forms and in vitro dissolution studies by stability indicating UPLC.

A reproducible gradient reversed-phase ultra-performance liquid chromatographic method is developed for quantitative determination of duloxetine hydrochloride in pharmaceutical dosage forms. The method is also applicable for analysis of related substances and for study of in vitro dissolution profiles. Chromatographic separation is achieved on a 50 mm × 4.6 mm, 1.8 μm C-18 column. Mobile phase A contains a mixture of 0.01 M KH(2)PO(4) (pH 4.0) buffer, tetrahydro furan, and methanol in the ratio 67:23:10 (v/v/v), respectively, and mobile phase B contains a mixture of 0.01 M KH(2)PO(4), (pH 4.0) buffer, and acetonitrile in the ratio 60:40 (v/v), respectively. The flow rate is 0.6 mL/min, and the detection wavelength is monitored at 236 nm. Resolution of duloxetine hydrochloride and three potential impurities is greater than 2.0 for all pairs of components. The drug was subjected to ICH prescribed hydrolytic, oxidative, photolytic, and thermal stress conditions. Method is validated for linearity, specificity, accuracy, precision, ruggedness, and robustness.