Packaging and storage
Preserve in well-closed containers. Store at 25
, excursions permitted between 15
and 30
.
Heavy metals
Carefully ignite 1.0 g in a muffle furnace at about 550
until thoroughly charred. Cool, add to the contents of the crucible 5 drops of sulfuric acid and 2 mL of nitric acid, cautiously heat until reaction has ceased, then ignite in a muffle furnace at 500
to 600
until the carbon is entirely burned off. Cool, add 2 mL of hydrochloric acid, and slowly evaporate on a steam bath to dryness. Moisten the residue with 1 drop of hydrochloric acid and 5 mL of hot water, and digest for 2 minutes. Add 1 drop of phenolphthalein TS, then add 6 N ammonium hydroxide dropwise until the reaction is alkaline. Render the solution acid with 1 N acetic acid, then add 1 mL of excess, transfer to a beaker, and add water to make 10 mL. Pipet 2.5 mL (equivalent to 25 µg of lead) of
Standard Lead Solution (see
Lead 231) into a second beaker, add 3 mL of water and 1 drop of
phenolphthalein TS, render just alkaline with 6 N ammonium hydroxide, then render acid with 1 N acetic acid, and add 1 mL in excess. Dilute with water to 10 mL. To each beaker add 5 mL of freshly prepared
hydrogen sulfide TS, mix, and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Pass each solution through a separate, acid-resistant, white, plain membrane filter of 0.22-µm pore size and 25 mm in diameter, collecting the precipitates on the filter disks: the color of the precipitate from the solution under test is not darker than that from the control. The heavy metals limit is 0.0025%.
Chromatographic purity
Mobile phase
Prepare a filtered and degassed mixture of water and acetonitrile (17:8). Make adjustments if necessary (see
System Suitability under
Chromatography 621).
Test solution
Transfer about 25 mg of Triamcinolone Acetonide, accurately weighed, to a 50-mL volumetric flask; dissolve in 25 mL of methanol, shake vigorously to aid dissolution; dilute with Mobile phase to volume; and mix.
Chromatographic system (see Chromatography 621)
The liquid chromatograph is equipped with a 254-nm detector and a 3.9-mm × 30-cm column that contains packing L1. The flow rate is about 1.5 mL per minute. Chromatograph the
Test solution, and record the peak responses as directed for
Procedure: the resolution,
R, between triamcinolone acetonide and any impurity peak is not less than 1.0.
Procedure
Inject about 20 µL of the
Test solution into the chromatograph, record the chromatogram for not less than four times the retention time of triamcinolone acetonide, and measure all of the peak responses. Calculate the percentage of each impurity in the portion of Triamcinolone Acetonide taken by the formula:
100(ri / rs),
in which
ri is the peak response for each impurity; and
rs is the sum of the responses of all the peaks: not more than 0.3% of any individual impurity is found, and not more than 0.8% of total impurities is found.
Assay
Mobile phase
Prepare a solution of acetonitrile in water containing approximately 30% (v/v) of acetonitrile.
Internal standard solution
Dissolve fluoxymesterone in methanol to obtain a solution having a concentration of about 50 µg per mL.
Standard preparation
Dissolve an accurately weighed quantity of
USP Triamcinolone Acetonide RS in
Internal standard solution to obtain a solution having a known concentration of about 75 µg per mL. Mix an accurately measured volume of the resulting solution with an equal volume of
Mobile phase to obtain a
Standard preparation containing about 37.5 µg of
USP Triamcinolone Acetonide RS per mL.
Assay preparation
Using about 37 mg of Triamcinolone Acetonide, accurately weighed, proceed as directed for Standard preparation.
Procedure
Introduce equal volumes (between 15 µL and 25 µL) of the
Assay preparation and the
Standard preparation into a high-pressure liquid chromatograph (see
Chromatography 621) operated at room temperature, by means of a suitable microsyringe or sampling valve. Adjust the operating parameters with
Mobile phase on the column so that the separation of triamcinolone acetonide and internal standard is optimized, with a retention time of about 14.5 minutes for triamcinolone acetonide. Typically, the apparatus is fitted with a 4-mm × 30-cm column containing packing L1 and is equipped with a UV detector capable of monitoring absorbance at 254 nm, and a suitable recorder. In a suitable chromatogram, the coefficient of variation for five replicate injections of a single specimen is not more than 3.0%; and the resolution factor,
R (see
Chromatography 621), between the peaks for triamcinolone acetonide and fluoxymesterone is not less than 2.0. Measure the heights of the internal standard and triamcinolone acetonide peaks at the same retention times obtained from the
Assay preparation and the
Standard preparation. Calculate the quantity, in mg, of C
24H
31FO
6 in the portion of Triamcinolone Acetonide taken by the formula:
1000C(RU / RS),
in which
C is the concentration, in mg per mL, of
USP Triamcinolone Acetonide RS in the
Standard preparation; and
RU and
RS are the ratios of the peak heights of triamcinolone acetonide to the internal standard obtained from the
Assay preparation and the
Standard preparation, respectively.