Developed and Validated for the Estimation of Tapinarof in Topical Formulation and Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients

BACKGROUND: Its broad applicability and capacity to separate numerous components in a single chromatographic run led to the initial recognition of reversed-phase (RP)-HPLC as an analytical technique. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to create a straightforward and reliable method for accurately and precisely measuring the amount of tapinarof in both the topical formulation and the active pharmaceutical ingredient. Additionally, a robust HPLC assay was developed specifically for analyzing the topical formulation. METHODS: In this study, chromatographic analysis was conducted using a Kromosil C18 column with dimensions of 250 × 4.6 mm and a particle size of 5 microns. The mobile phase consisted of a phosphate buffer and methanol in a ratio of 100:900 (v/v). The flow rate was set at 1.0 mL/min, with an injection volume of 10 µL and a run time of 6 min using isocratic elution. UV detection was performed at a wavelength of 313 nm, and the temperature was maintained at 30°C. The analysis showed well-separated peaks with a high number of theoretical plates, a low tailing factor, and consistent retention time. Validation of the method was conducted, and all validation parameters were found to be within the acceptable limits. RESULTS: A method that is simple, accurate, and precise has been developed to estimate the amount of tapinarof in a topical formulation and active pharmaceutical ingredient. The optimized method involved the use of a column temperature set at 30°C, 90% methanol as the mobile phase, and a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. The retention time for tapinarof was determined to be 2.88 min. The method exhibited linearity in the concentration range of 5 to 30 µg/mL (with an R2 value greater than 0.999) for tapinarof. CONCLUSION: The topical formulated cream and active pharmaceutical ingredient showed more than 90% dissolution within 5 min. The method developed in this study utilized photo diode array (PDA) for peak integrity and purity confirmation, making it suitable for the quantification of tapinarof in both topical formulations and active pharmaceutical ingredients. HIGHLIGHTS: The method was validated and can be recommended for routine analysis in QC laboratories.