Identification
Transfer a volume of Oral Solution,equivalent to about 100mg of diphenoxylate hydrochloride,to a separator,add 1mLof 3Nhydrochloric acid and sufficient water to make about 100mL,and extract with five 25-mLportions of a mixture of chloroform and isopropyl alcohol (9:1).After each extraction transfer the bottom chloroform layer to a second separator,filtering each portion through a sintered-glass filter.Wash the combined chloroform solutions with two 25-mLportions of water,discard the washings,and evaporate the chloroform on a steam bath to dryness.To the residue add 10mLof ether previously saturated with hydrochloric acid,carefully evaporate to dryness,then add a second portion of the acid-saturated ether,and again evaporate to dryness.Make a slurry of the residue with
n-hexane,allow the solids to settle,and carefully decant the supernatant.Dry the solids at 105

for 1hour:the diphenoxylate hydrochloride so obtained meets the requirements for
Identificationtests
Aand
Bunder
Diphenoxylate Hydrochloride.
Assay for atropine sulfate
pH2.8Buffer
Dissolve 1.9g of aminoacetic acid and 1.5g of sodium chloride in 250mLof water.Adjust by the gradual addition of about 85mLof 0.1Nhydrochloric acid to a pHof 2.8.
Internal standard solution
Transfer about 20mg of homatropine hydrobromide to a 200-mLvolumetric flask,dissolve in and dilute with water to volume,and mix.
Standard preparation
Transfer about 25mg of
USP Atropine Sulfate RS,accurately weighed,to a 200-mLvolumetric flask.Dissolve in and dilute with water to volume,and mix.Pipet 2mLof the resulting solution into a 125-mLseparator containing about 50mLof water.Add 2.0mLof
Internal standard solution,10.0mLof
pH2.8Buffer,and 25mLof water-saturated methylene chloride.Insert the stopper,shake for 2minutes,and allow the layers to separate.Discard the lower,organic layer.Repeat the extraction four times,using 25-mLportions of water-saturated methylene chloride each time,allowing the layers to separate and discarding the organic layer each time.To the remaining aqueous layer add 3mLof 0.1Nsodium hydroxide,and shake briefly.Using a pHmeter,adjust the solution to a pHof 9.0±0.3.Immediately add 10mLof water-saturated methylene chloride,insert the stopper,and shake.Transfer the lower,organic layer to a 50-mLcontainer.Repeat the extraction twice more with 10-mLportions of water-saturated methylene chloride,combining the organic extracts.Under a stream of nitrogen,evaporate the organic extracts to dryness.Dissolve the residue in 0.1mLof methylene chloride.
Assay preparation
Transfer an accurately measured volume of Oral Solution,equivalent to about 250µg of atropine sulfate,to a 125-mLseparator.Proceed as directed for Standard preparation,beginning with Add 2.0mLof Internal standard solution.
Chromatographic system(see Chromatography á621ñ)
The gas chromatograph is equipped with a flame-ionization detector and a 4-mm ×1.2-m glass column that contains 3%phase G3on support S1.The column is maintained at a temperature of 230

,and the injection port and detector at 250

.Helium is used as the carrier gas at a flow rate of 40mLper minute.Chromatograph the
Standard preparation,and record the peak responses as directed for
Procedure:the resolution,
R,between atropine and the internal standard is not less than 2.0;and the relative standard deviation for replicate injections is not more than 2.5%.
Procedure
Separately inject equal volumes (about 2µL)of the
Standard preparationand the
Assay preparationinto the chromatograph,record the chromatograms,and measure the responses for the major peaks.Calculate the quantity,in µg,of atropine sulfate [(C
17H
23NO
3)
2·H
2SO
4·H
2O]in each mLof the Oral Solution taken by the formula:
2(694.85/676.83)(C/V)(RU/RS),
in which 694.85and 676.83are the molecular weights of atropine sulfate monohydrate and anhydrous atropine sulfate,respectively;
Cis the concentration,in µg per mL,of
USP Atropine Sulfate RS(corrected to the monohydrate)in the
Standard preparation;Vis the volume,in mL,of Oral Solution taken;and
RUand
RSare the peak response ratios of atropine to the internal standard obtained from the
Assay preparationand the
Standard preparation,respectively.