Rapid determination and conversion study of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural and its derivatives in glucose injection

Abstract

In this study, we have identified 5-HMF and two additional derivatives (II and III) in glucose i.v. solution and reported normal phase high performance liquid chromatography for the first time for simultaneous determination of these three compounds. Chromatographic separation was achieved in less than 10 min on a Platisil Silica column at 30 °C with n-hexane/methanol/dichloromethane (70/24/6, v/v/v) as the mobile phase at a flow rate of 1.0 mL min⁻¹ at 284 nm, and the methodology results were all in accordance with the guidelines. Using this established method, 15 different batches of glucose i.v. solutions were tested. Not only did the concentrations of 5-HMF detected by this method coincide with the results by the UV method adopted by pharmacopeias of various countries, but our proposed method could also reflect the types and contents of compounds I–III in glucose injection. A conversion study revealed that compounds I–III were labile and interconverted under various conditions, especially in saline and weak acidic solutions, which were similar to the routine application of glucose i.v. solution for patients. All the results indicated the useful application of this study for the quality control of glucose solution.