Use of the zirconia-based stationary phase for separation of ibuprofen and its impurities

A new reversed-phase liquid chromatographic method using zirconia-based stationary phase was developed for determination of ibuprofen, its related compounds and its main degradation products. The chromatographic separation was successfully achieved on the Discovery®Zr-PS column (150 mm × 4.6 mm i.d., 5 μm), using a mobile phase methanol-phosphate buffer (pH 4.5; 0.05 M)-tetrahydrofurane (21:74:5, v/v/v) and the flow rate 0.5 ml min−1. The UV detection was performed in dual wavelength mode (219 and 258 nm) to detect all compounds of interest. The column temperature was set on 60 °C to shorten the analysis time and improve the peak symmetry. The method is simple, rapid and cuts down the amount of hazardous waste produced in the analysis. The assay is completed within 22 minutes.