Inside information
New laser-based technology claimed to accurately ‘see’ the active ingredient in drug capsules could help spot counterfeit drugs. Siobhan Wagner reports.
Researchers have perfected a new laser-based technique which they claim can 'see' the bulk chemical content of drug capsules — without opening them.
The technology is the result of a joint collaboration between the
(STFC) at Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire and teams from global pharmaceutical giant
.
They claim the method can determine the quantity of active pharmaceutical ingredient in capsules to a relative error of one per cent. Other established non-invasive methods tried by the teams were unable to reach the same level of accuracy with the same sample.
The development — which holds great potential for a range of process control applications in the pharmaceutical industry — stems from research into a novel Raman spectroscopy method, Spatially Offset Raman Spectroscopy.
This is under development at STFC for a wide range of applications, including the detection of explosives in non-metallic containers, 'spotting' counterfeit drugs through opaque packaging and the non-invasive diagnosis of bone disease and cancer.
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