Validation of Analytical Methods for Tacrolimus Determination in Poly(ε-caprolactone) Nanocapsules and Identification of Drug Degradation Products.

The aim of this paper was to use chromatographic tools for validating an analytical method for the tacrolimus (TAC) determination in polymeric nanocapsules and for identifying the drug degradation products after alkaline stress. A rapid Ultra-High-Performance Liquid Chromatography coupled with photo-diode array (UHPLC-PDA) method was successfully performed using the following chromatographic conditions: the Shimadzu Shim-pack XR-ODS III C18 column (100 mm×2.00 mm, 2.2 μm), the mobile phase consisting of methanol and acidified ultrapure water (89:11 v/v), the flow rate of 0.55 mL·min^-1, and the ultraviolet (UV) detection at 235 nm. This method was validated as per International Council for Harmonisation (ICH) guidelines. In addition, a TAC forced degradation assay was carried out after alkaline stress and its degradation products were investigated using Liquid Chromatography coupled tandem mass spectroscopy (LC-MS/MS). The calibration curve was linear in the range of 100.0-300.0 μg·mL^-1 (r >0.9999). Accuracy was confirmed by the TAC recovery of 96.55 to 98.19%. Precision (intraday and interday) were demonstrated by relative standard deviation lower than 0.89% and 3.25%, respectively. Selectivity and robustness were also proved. The method developed it was successfully applied to quantify TAC from polymeric nanocapsules, showing a high loading efficiency rate (>96.47%). The main drug degradation product observed in a multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) experiment was m/z 844, confirming the susceptibility of TAC under alkaline conditions; this finding was first time described.