Headspace Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry Method for Determination of Class-I Residual Solvents in Several Drug Substances: Method Evaluation by Quality by Design Statistical Tool

Abstract Background Class-I residual solvents such as 1,1-dichloroethene, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, carbon tetrachloride, benzene, 1,2-dichloroethane are toxic, environmental hazards, and carcinogenic to humans. A headspace-gas chromatography–mass spectrometer is a sophisticated instrument for the quantification of residual solvents at lower limits. Objective An exact, sensitive, reliable, and fast method was developed to determine 1,1-dichloroethene, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, carbon tetrachloride, benzene, and 1,2-dichloroethane present in different drug substances using a headspace-gas chromatography–mass spectrometer. Methods Helium is used as a carrier gas. N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone is used as a diluent, and the stationary phase is a DB-624 (60 m × 0.25 mm × 1.4 μm film thickness) column with a flow rate of 1.5 mL/min. Results The concentration LODs for 1,1-dichloroethene, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, carbon tetrachloride, benzene, and 1,2-dichloroethane were 0.24, 5, 0.12, 0.06, and 0.15 ppm. The concentrations LOQs for the aforementioned impurities were 0.8, 15, 0.4, 0.2, and 0.5 ppm. The linearity was assessed over the range from LOQ to 120% of the specification level. Conclusion The current method's system suitability, precision, linearity, and accuracy parameters were assessed in accordance with the United states pharmacopeia (USP) < 1225> and International Conference on Harmonization of technical standards for the registration of medicines for human use (ICH) Q2(R2), and the results were within the acceptance criteria. Highlights No research studies have been reported on determining class-I residual solvents in lincomycin hydrochloride, dapagliflozin, vonoprazan fumarate, and telmisartan drug substances. The proposed research aims to develop a common method for the quantification of class-I residual solvents for drug substances. The quality by design (QbD) concept is utilized in performance verification.