Applying Near Infrared Spectroscopy to the Identification of Drugs

Introduction

Infrared spectroscopy is used in the Japanese Pharmacopoeia for identifying drugs. Analysis methods using infrared spectroscopy includes the KBr tablet method, Nujol Mull method, and liquid film method. Near infrared spectroscopy is not used in the Japanese Pharmacopoeia as yet. However, considering its simplicity and versatility, it is anticipated to be adopted as a general test method in the future. A wider application is expected for near infrared spectroscopy in the field of pharmaceuticals. Equipment for near infrared analysis includes systems exclusively designed to handle spectra over the 12500~4000cm^-1 range and FTIR or UV-Vis spectrophotometers with wavenumber expansion capability. This Application News presents spectra obtained using Shimadzu’s latest FTIR system IRPrestige-21 combined with a near infrared kit, and introduces an example of using a program for identification tests.

July 21, 2004 GMT