High-performance liquid chromatographic separation of corticoid alcohols and their derivatives: a hydrolysis study including application to pharmaceuticals

Several reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic methods for the baseline separation of some glucocorticoid alcohols and their derivatives (esters and acetals) have been developed. These methods involve fluorocortisone and fluorocortisone acetate, triamcinolone and triamcinolone acetonide, dexamethasone and dexamethasone phosphate, 21-hydroxydeflazacort and deflazacort, betamethasone and betamethasone valerate using deoxycorticosterone or methylprednisolone as an internal standard, a Hypersil C18 column, several mobile phases containing acetonitrile, and ultraviolet detection. These sensitive methods are used for a further hydrolysis study in an aqueous medium using standard solutions, which allowed the simultaneous monitoring of glucocorticoid derivatives and their hydrolysis products. In this study, the main variables that can affect the hydrolysis (pH and temperature) are also studied. Several applications to pharmaceuticals containing glucocorticoids are also reported.