Due to increasing availability of pharmaceuticals from many sources, a need is growing to quickly and efficiently analyze substances in terms of the consistency and accuracy of their chemical composition. Differences in chemical composition occur at very low concentrations, so that highly sensitive analytical methods become crucial. Recent progress in dispersive spectroscopy with the use of 2-dimensional detector arrays, permits for signal integration along a long (up to 12 mm long) entrance slit of a spectrometer, thereby increasing signal to noise ratio and improving the ability to detect small concentration changes. This is achieved with a non-scanning, non-destructive system. Two different methods using P&P Optica high performance spectrometers were used. High performance optical dispersion Raman and high performance optical absorption spectroscopy were employed to differentiate various acetaminophen-containing drugs, such as Tylenol™ and other generic brands, which differ in their ingredients. A 785 nm excitation wavelength was used in Raman measurements and strong Raman signals were observed in the spectral range 300-1800 cm^-1. Measurements with the absorption spectrometer were performed in the wavelength range 620-1020 nm. Both Raman and absorption techniques used transmission light spectrometers with volume phase holographic gratings and provided sufficient spectral differences, often structural, allowing for drug differentiation.

Date Published: 12 February 2009
PDF: 10 pages
Proc. SPIE 7182, Imaging, Manipulation, and Analysis of Biomolecules, Cells, and Tissues VII, 71820M (12 February 2009); doi: 10.1117/12.809112

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 7182:
Imaging, Manipulation, and Analysis of Biomolecules, Cells, and Tissues VII
Daniel L. Farkas; Dan V. Nicolau; Robert C. Leif, Editor(s)