Identification, isolation and characterization of a pharmaceutical impurity in levocetirizine hydrochloride
Keyword(s):
: Levocetirizine is the active R-enantiomer of the racemate cetirizine, the latter being a piperazine derivative and human metabolite of the first-generation antihistamine hydroxyzine. In this study, a pharmaceutical impurity was detected and isolated through various chromatographic methods. The structure was identified as levocetirizine quaternary ammonium by mass spectrometry and NMR spectroscopy. The formation mechanisms of the impurity were also presented.