Stability-indicating HPLC Method for Simultaneous Determination of Aspirin and Prasugrel

A simple, sensitive, specific, accurate, and stability-indicating reversed phase high performance liquid chromatographic method was developed for the simultaneous determination of aspirin and prasugrel, using a Kromasil 100 C(18) (150×4.6 mm, 5 μ) column and a mobile phase composed of acetonitrile:methanol:water (30:10:60, v/v), pH 3.0 adjusted with o-phosphoric acid. The retention times of aspirin and prasugrel were found to be 3.28 min and 6.61 min, respectively. Linearity was established for aspirin and prasugrel in the range of 15-150 and 2-20 μg/ml, respectively. The percentage recoveries of aspirin and prasugrel were found to be in the range of 99.34-100.32% and 98.92-102.09%, respectively. Both the drugs were subjected to acid, alkali and neutral hydrolysis, oxidation, dry heat, and UV degradation. The degradation studies indicated aspirin to be more susceptible to alkaline hydrolysis, while prasugrel to be more susceptible to neutral hydrolysis. The degradation products were well resolved from the pure drug with significant differences in their retention time values. This method can be successfully employed for simultaneous quantitative analysis of aspirin and prasugrel in bulk drugs and formulations.