Comparison of ZIC-HILIC Columns for the Simultaneous Analysis of Antiviral Drugs in Dosage Forms by Hydrophilic Interaction Liquid Chromatography

Background: Antiviral drugs are vital since many viruses can produce fatal infections, as we have recently seen with the COVID-19 pandemic. Antiviral drugs can battle viruses at multiple stages of their life cycles, including neuraminidase, nucleic acid synthesis, protease, and virion fusion or entry.Objective: Antiviral drugs have poor retention in reversed-phase liquid chromatography, which makes it difficult to analyze a mixture of antiviral medications using high-performance liquid chromatography. Using zwitterionic hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (ZICHILIC), the paper highlights the simultaneous quantification of three antiviral drugs as active constituents in pharmaceutical formulations. Moreover, the influence of the length of the spacer between the two charges in two stationary phases on the retention behavior of antiviral drugs has been discussed.Methods: Two homemade stationary phases (ZIC1-HILIC and ZIC5-HILIC) were utilized for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of three antiviral drugs, and UV was used as the detector. Several chromatographic conditions were examined, such as the organic modifier concentration, buffer concentration, and pH value.Results: After optimizing the parameters, the devised method was applied to analyse three antiviral medications quantitatively. The initial results demonstrated the current procedure for separating and determining these three antiviral drugs to be sensitive, robust, and effective. Consequently, the present method has shown excellent repeatability, a broad linear range (0.1- 16.5 μgml^-1), and excellent sensitivity (LOD 0.04-0.072 μgml^-1). The RSD value of the method was less than 1.Conclusion: A mixed mode of hydrophilic and ion exchange interactions was the predominant mode of antiviral medications with two ZIC-HILIC stationary phases. The ZIC5-HILIC stationary phase had a lower detection and limit of quantitation for three antiviral drugs and a prolonged retention time compared to the ZIC1-HILIC stationary phase with a shorter chain length.