Development of a Stability-Indicating HPLC Method and a Dissolution Test for Rivaroxaban Dosage Forms

Rivaroxaban is an inhibitor of factor Xa, which is used as an oral anticoagulant for the prevention of thromboembolism. The objective of this study was to develop a stability-indicating high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the quantitative determination of rivaroxaban in pharmaceutical dosage forms. Rivaroxaban was subjected to acidic, basic, oxidative, photolytic, and thermal conditions for forced stress degradation studies. Considerable degradation was observed in all stress degradation tests. Rivaroxaban and its degradation products were separated on a Nova-Pak C-8 column utilizing a mixture of acetonitrile and KH2PO4 50 mM (pH 3.0) (40: 60, v/v) as the mobile phase, and the chromatogram was recorded at 270 nm using a general ultraviolet (UV) detector. The developed method was linear over the concentration range of 1-50 mu g mL(-1) showing acceptable within-day and between-day precision and accuracy values (CV < 2% and Error < 2%). The dissolution profile of rivaroxaban tablets was also studied in the presence of a surfactant using optimized conditions. The validated method was successfully used for the determination of rivaroxaban in dosage forms and also in dissolution medium indicating the specificity of the assay method.