Development and validation of high‐performance liquid chromatography‐Orbitrap mass spectrometric method for quantification of NDMA in ranitidine drug products and evaluation of antioxidants as inhibitors of classical nitrosation reaction

Rationale N ‐Nitroso dimethylamine (NDMA) is a mutagenic impurity detected in several ranitidine products. The amino functional group of ranitidine is a risk factor for classical nitrosation‐induced NDMA formation in ranitidine drug products during storage conditions. The United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) recommended the use of antioxidants to control NDMA in drug products. Considering the need for sensitive analytics, a liquid chromatography/high‐resolution mass spectrometry (LC–HRMS) method was developed and validated to detect NDMA in this pilot study to demonstrate the antioxidants as inhibitors of nitrosation reactions. Methods The method, utilizing an EC‐C18 column and tuned to atmospheric pressure chemical ionization/selected ion monitoring (APCI/SIM) mode, separated NDMA ( m/z : 75.0553; tR: 3.71 min) and ranitidine ( m/z : 315.1485; tR: 8.61 min). APCI mode exhibited four times higher sensitivity to NDMA than electrospray ionization (ESI) mode. Classical nitrosation of the dimethyl amino group of ranitidine was studied with sodium nitrite in solid pellets. Antioxidants (alpha‐tocopherol, ascorbic acid, and trolox) were evaluated as NDMA attenuators in ranitidine pellets under vulnerable storage conditions. The developed method quantified NDMA levels in samples, extracted with methanol through vortex shaking for 45 min. Results The method achieved a limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantitation (LOQ) of 0.01 and 0.05 ng/mL, respectively, with linearity within 1–5000 ng/mL ( R 1 : 0.9995). It demonstrated good intra‐day and inter‐day precision (% RSD [relative standard deviation]: <2) and accuracy (96.83%–101.72%). Nitrosation of ranitidine induced by nitrite was significant ( p  < 0.001; R 2  = 0.9579) at various sodium nitrite levels. All antioxidants efficiently attenuated NDMA formation during ranitidine nitrosation. Ascorbic acid exhibited the highest NDMA attenuation (96.98%), followed by trolox (90.58%). This study recommends 1% ascorbic acid and trolox as potent NDMA attenuators in ranitidine drug products. Conclusions This study compared the effectiveness of antioxidants as NDMA attenuators in ranitidine under storage conditions susceptible to NDMA generation. The study concluded that ascorbic acid and trolox are potent inhibitors of NDMA formation and nitrosation attenuators in ranitidine drug products.