Development of a validated liquid chromatographic method for determination of related substances of telmisartan in bulk drugs and formulations

A simple and rapid reversed phase liquid chromatographic method for separation and determination of the related substances of telmisartan (TLM) was developed and validated. The chromatographic separation was achieved on Lichrospher RP-18 column (250 × 4.6 mm, 5 μm), using 20 mM ammonium acetate containing 0.1% (v/v) triethylamine (pH adjusted to 3.0 with trifluoroacetic acid) and acetonitrile as mobile phase at 25 °C. The detection was performed at 254 nm. The method was validated and found to be robust, precise, specific and linear between 0.37 and 500 μg/mL. The limits of detection and quantification of telmisartan were 0.11 and 0.37 μg/mL, respectively. The method was successfully applied to quantify related substances and assay of TLM in bulk drugs and commercial tablets. The related substances relate to a novel synthetic route and different from those A-H impurities reported by European Pharmacopeia.