UVB photolysis of betamethasone and its esters: characterization of photoproducts in solution, in pig skin and in drug formulations.

The stability of the synthetic glucocorticosteroid betamethasone under UVB light was studied both in vitro (water and methanol solution and in topical and injectable commercial formulations) and ex vivo (pig skin). From irradiated methanol solutions three main photoproducts were isolated by HPLC and TLC and characterized by NMR/MS analyses. The modifications involve parts of the molecule peculiar for the therapeutic activity, that is, rearrangement of ring A ("lumi"- and "photolumiderivatives"), and Norrish Type I fragmentation of the ketolic chain ("androderivative").