Fluorescence spectroscopy used for quality control in pharmaceutical industry and for forensic profiling

WOLTMANN, EVA; POSCH, TJORBEN N.; KLER, PABLO A.; WEIGEL DIANA; MEYER, HANS; PRITZKE, HANS; HUHN, CAROLIN

Philadelphia

Workshop; 15 International Workshop on Physical Characterization of Pharmaceutical Solids; 2013

Advanced Solid Stated Analysis International

Counterfeiting drugs is profitable for criminals because of the high profit margin especially for drugs such as antibiotics, drugs against malaria, and pain killers. Counterfeit drugs vary in terms of the concentration and the type of the active agent [1], the tableting material, and quality with regard to the presence of side products, homogeneity, and compaction. In many cases, counterfeit drugs can hardly be discriminated from the original without suitable analytical techniques. As many active agents are have an extended π-conjugated laser induced fluorescence (LIF) detection is well applicable for the analysis of these compounds as e.g. described for acetyl salicylic acid [2]. We here present a new and straight-forward setup for the profiling of counterfeit drugs with LIF detection using a frequency-quadrupled Nd:YAG laser as excitation source. The optimization of the setup’s geometry and its characterization by means of a series of tablets produced via a design of experiment varying parameter such as concentrations of the active agent, matrix composition, homogeneity, and compression force is shown. Principle component analysis allows us to the discrimination of tablets produced with different parameters. The setup presented can also be combined with a scanning stage and thus allows chemical imaging of tablets with regard to impurity profiling on the surface of the pharmaceutical solid as well as the investigation of the homogeneity of the sample. Both methods are well applicable for forensic profiling as well as for quality control in pharmaceutical industry.