Esterification of Ibuprofen in Soft Gelatin Capsules Formulations—Identification, Synthesis and Liquid Chromatography Separation of the Degradation Products

Unknown impurities were identified in ibuprofen (IBU) soft gelatin capsules (SGCs) during long-term stability testing by a UHPLC method with UV detection and its chemical formula was determined using high resolution/accurate mass (HRAM) LC-MS. Reference standards of the impurities were subsequently synthesized, isolated by semi-preparative HPLC and characterized using HRAM LC-MS, NMR and IR. Two impurities were formed by esterification of IBU with polyethylene glycol (PEG), which is used as a fill of the SGCs, and were identified as IBU-PEG monoester and IBU-PEG diester. Two other degradants arised from reaction of IBU with sorbitol and sorbitan, which are components of the shell and serves as plasticizers. Thus, IBU sorbitol monoester (IBU-sorbitol) and IBU sorbitan monoester (IBU-sorbitan ester) were identified. An UHPLC method was further optimized in order to separate, selectively detect and quantify the degradation products in IBU SGCs.