SOME APPLICATIONS OF NEAR-INFRARED REFLECTANCE ANALYSIS IN THE PHARMACEUTICAL-INDUSTRY

A non-comprehensive overview of near-infrared (NIR) reflectance analys is in the pharmaceutical industry is presented. This survey will inclu de background information defining NIR (i.e. spectral region and spect ral features), the spectroscopic measurement, and the merits of this t echnique. This presentation comprises selected pharmaceutical applicat ions of NIR used within Wellcome. One use of NIR is for the identifica tion of tablets in bulk and non-invasively inside individual blister p ack cells using several sample presentations including a fibre-optic p robe. NIR has been used to determine moisture in freeze-dried parenter als by non-invasively measuring spectra through the bases of product v ials. The viability of transferring moisture measuring equations betwe en different instruments within the same site and between two differen t sites is examined. Another application of NIR involves a rapid assay of the active in whole tablets without any sample preparation. Finall y, the use of NIR to validate blending processes for solid formulation s is briefly discussed. There are many other applications of NIR in th e pharmaceutical industry which are beyond the scope of this presentat ion. The applications presented here are those being pursued within ou r company, and provide an indication of the capabilities of NIR.