Last month we talked about foreign particulate analysis in injectable products. This month we want to focus on Raman microscopy’s application in pharmaceuticals, particularly controlled release products.
Raman spectroscopy is a powerful and widely used analytical tool in the pharmaceutical world. The advantages of Raman analysis are that it is non-destructive, fast, and has a very high spatial resolution. One of the most powerful applications is blend uniformity or homogeneity analysis using Raman chemical mapping/imaging. Raman chemical imaging can be used to investigate the distribution and grain size of excipients and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in a formulation. The data can be compiled and presented in a color map image to show the distribution of different ingredients. The analysis can be performed on pharmaceutical tablets, semi-solids, coatings, stents, etc. Mapping areas can range from a 1 mm x 1 mm to a full tablet.
The left side of the poster below shows the results of a study that we conducted on controlled release implants. We performed Raman chemical mapping on the implant with a series of different formulations. We’re presenting a couple of examples here. Enjoy! (click on the image to get a larger view).
If you or your clients have a need for Raman chemical mapping, please feel free to give us a call and we will be happy to assist.
To learn more about our Raman capabilities visit:
Raman Spectroscopy Lab Services and Applications
Confocal Raman Microscopy/Spectroscopy