Forced degradation of fentanyl: identification and analysis of impurities and degradants.

Fentanyl, N-(1-phenethylpiperidin-4-yl)-N-phenylpropionamide is a rapid-acting, powerful opioid analgesic used extensively for anesthesia and chronic pain management. A forced degradation study of fentanyl active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) was performed using light, acid, base, heat and oxidation. Under acidic conditions, fentanyl was shown to degrade to N-phenyl-1-(2-phenylethyl)-piperidin-4-amine (PPA(1)).

The effect of film thickness on thermal aerosol generation.

Purpose: Rapid heating of thin films of pharmaceutical compounds can vaporize the molecules, which leads to formation of aerosol particles of optimal size for pulmonary drug delivery. The aim of this work was to assess the effect of coated film thickness on the purity of a thermally generated (condensation) drug aerosol.

Materials And Methods: Pharmaceuticals in their free base form were spray-coated onto stainless steel foils and subsequently heated and vaporized in airflow via a rapid resistive heating of the foil.