Abstract
The objectives of this research were to evaluate the stability of lercanidipine in solution state and solid state and explore the compatibility of drug with oils, surfactants and cosurfactants as excipients. The effect of pH on the degradation in solution state was studied through pH-rate profile of lercanidipine in constant ionic strength buffer solutions in pH range 1–8 which gives the pH of maximum stability. Powdered lercanidipine was stored under 40°C/0%~75% relative humidities (RH) or 0% RH/5~50°C to study the influence of RH and temperature on the stability of lercanidipine in solid state. Binary mixtures of lercanidipine and different excipients were stored at 40°C/75% RH, 40°C and at room temperature for excipient compatibility evaluation. The degradation of lercanidipine at different pH appears to fit a typical first-order reaction, but in solid state, it does not fit any obvious reaction model. Moisture content and temperature both play important roles affecting the degradation rate. Lercanidipine exhibits good compatibility with surfactants, cosurfactants and oils as excipients under stressed conditions of different storage temperature in a 3-week screening study. Moreover, the proposed high-performance liquid chromatography method was utilized to investigate the kinetics of the acidic and alkaline degradation processes of lercanidipine at different temperatures.