Simultaneous RP-LC analysis of 10-O-(N,N-dimethylaminoethyl)-ginkgolide B and three related impurities

10-O-(N,N-dimethylaminoethyl)-ginkgolide B (XQ-1) is an intermediate for synthesizing 10-O-(N,N-dimethylaminoethyl)-ginkgolide B methanesulfonate (XQ-1H), which is a novel ginkgolide B derivative and is being developed as a platelet-activating factor antagonist. A specific and rapid liquid chromatographic method was developed for the quantitative analysis of XQ-1 and its three related impurities, which were 10-O-(N,N-dimethylaminoethyl)-11,12-seco-ginkgolide B (imp-1), 10-O-(N,N-dimethylaminoethyl)-11,12-seco-3,14-dehydroginkgolide B (imp-2) and 10-O-(N,N-dimethylaminoethyl)-3,14-dehydroginkgolide B (imp-3) simultaneously in XQ-1 samples. Chromatographic separation was achieved on a CN band stationary phase, with the mobile phase consisting of methanol and 20 mM dipotassium hydrogen phosphate (pH 7.5) (50:50, υ/υ) in isocratic elution. The flow rate was 1.0 mL min-1 and detector was set at 220 nm. The method was optimized by the analysis of the samples generated during the forced degradation studies. The XQ-1, imp-1, imp-2, and imp-3 were completely separated within 15 min. The resolutions (Rs) amongst four target compounds were >2. The developed method was validated with respect to specificity, linearity, accuracy, precision, and robustness. The results indicated that the simultaneous LC determination method was readily utilized as a quality control method for XQ-1 sample.