Validation of a sensitive ion chromatography method for determination of monoethylsulfate in Indinavir sulfate drug substance

The present study relates to the optimization of an ion chromatography method to determine the content of monoethylsulfate at very low levels in Indinavir sulfate drug substance, and subsequent validation of the method to prove its suitability, reliability and sensitivity. Monoethylsulfate is a potential impurity of Indinavir sulfate, and may forms during the preparation as well as during storage. The ion chromatography method was developed in such a way that to enhance the detection level by introducing suppressor, and minimizing acquisition time by using suitable buffer of 3.2 mmole of sodium carbonate and 1 mmole of sodium hydrogen carbonate in water as eluent. The retention time of monoethylsulfate was about 9.5 min and the total acquisition time was 25 min. The optimized method was validated to prove its performance characteristics by demonstrating selectivity, sensitivity (limit of detection and quantification), linearity, precision and accuracy. The established limit of detection and quantification of monoethylsulfate in Indinavir sulfate by this method was found to be 24 ng/ml and 74 ng/ml respectively, and the overall percent accuracy (recovery) of samples evaluated at different concentration levels was found to be 97.1, indicating the sensitivity and accuracy of this optimized ion chromatography method.