Separation of salbutamol and six related impurities by packed column supercritical fluid chromatography.

A rapid separation of salbutamol sulphate and six related impurities: 5-formyl-saligenin, salbutamol ketone, salbutamol bis ether, isopropyl salbutamol, desoxysalbutamol sulphate and salbutamol aldehyde, has been achieved by employing packed column supercritical fluid chromatography. The effects of temperature, pressure, additive concentration and identity on retention have been studied. The use of a basic additive is necessary in order to elute the compounds and improve the peak shape. The best results were obtained by using a diol column and a gradient of modifier (methanol with 0.5 % of n-propylamine).