Forty years in the pharmaceutical analysis

The development in pharmaceutical analysis during the last 40 years is illu strated by examples taken from the author's laboratory. A large variety of analytical techniques have been applied from classical (gravimetric, volume tric, spectrophotometric) methods to modern chromatographic (TLC, GC, HPLC) , capillary electrophoretic and spectroscopic (UV, IR, NMR, MS) methods and hyphenated techniques (HPLC/DAD-UV, GC/MS, HPLC/MS). The investigated prob lems include the determination of active ingredient content of bulk drug ma terials, intermediates, potential drugs, drug products, the estimation of i mpurity profiles, investigation of reactions in pharmaceutical syntheses, t heir side reactions and the degradation reactions of drugs with special res pect to steroids.