Characterisation of transmission Raman spectroscopy for rapid quantitative analysis of intact multi-component pharmaceutical capsules.

A detailed characterisation of the performance of transmission Raman spectroscopy was performed from the standpoint of rapid quantitative analysis of pharmaceutical capsules using production relevant formulations comprising of active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) and 3 common pharmaceutical excipients. This research builds on our earlier studies that identified the unique benefits of transmission Raman spectroscopy compared to conventional Raman spectroscopy. These include the ability to provide bulk information of the content of capsules, thus avoiding the sub-sampling problem, and the suppression of interference from the capsule shell.

Use of a static eliminator to improve powder flow.

Glidants and lubricants have long been used to improve the flow and processing of pharmaceutical and other powder blends. In this letter, we find that similar improvements can be attained, without additives, by using a simple static eliminator. These results indicate, first, that electrostatic effects on powder blends may be a significant cause of powder aggregation and flow instabilities, and second, that common additives such as magnesium stearate, colloidal silica, and talc may have as their chief effect the reduction of static.

Non-invasive quantitative assessment of the content of pharmaceutical capsules using transmission Raman spectroscopy.

This study demonstrates how transmission Raman spectroscopy can be used in the quantitative, non-invasive probing of the bulk content of production line relevant pharmaceutical products contained within capsules with a strong interfering Raman signal (principally TiO(2)). This approach is particularly beneficial in situations where the conventional Raman backscattering method is hampered or fails due to excessive Raman or fluorescence signals emanating from surface layers (capsule or coating) that pollute the much weaker subsurface Raman signals. In these feasibility experiments the interfering surface Raman signal was effectively suppressed, relative to the Raman signal of the internal content, by a factor of 33, in the transmission geometry in comparison with the conventional backscattering Raman approach.

Effect of moisture and magnesium stearate concentration on flow properties of cohesive granular materials.

In this article the gravitational displacement rheometer (GDR) is used to characterize the effects of formulation composition and environmental conditions (moisture) on flow properties of cohesive pharmaceutical powders under unconfined conditions. The amount of moisture in the sample often has important effects on the physical and chemical properties of pharmaceutical solids. Properties such as flow, compaction, disintegration, dissolution, hardness and chemical stability are all influenced by moisture.

Applications of attenuated total reflection infrared spectroscopic imaging to pharmaceutical formulations.

This paper demonstrates an approach to obtain chemical images of pharmaceutical tablets using attenuated total reflection infrared (ATR-IR) spectroscopy. FT-IR images with different fields of view and spatial resolution have been obtained using a combination of different ATR accessories. FT-IR imaging with the diamond ATR accessory and micro-ATR imaging technique have been compared.