Recent Advances in Solid-State Analysis of Pharmaceuticals

Abstract

Current analytical techniques for characterizing solid-state pharmaceuticals include powder x-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, electron microscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance. Powder x-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry are mainstream techniques but they lack spatial resolution. Scanning electron microscopy and micro-Raman spectroscopy provide good chemical and optical characterization but they are not capable of analysing very small nanoparticles. Transmission electron microscopy and nano-thermal analysis can provide explicit characterization of nanoparticles but they are invasive. Nuclear magnetic resonance offers good spatial resolution but its use is mainly limited by poor sensitivity and high costs. In view of the many challenges posed by existing methods, new and novel techniques are being continually researched and developed to cater to the growing number of solid formulations in the pipeline and in the market. Some of the recent advances attained in the solid-state analysis of pharmaceutical are summarized in this review article.

Characterization of pharmaceutically relevant materials at the solid state employing chemometrics methods

“…and other methods, partly because the systems are homogeneous. On the contrary, the characterization of pharmaceutical solids is somehow different, resulting in a different set of suitable methodologies [3]. Because the material is heterogeneous, consisting of particles of varying sizes and compositions, quantitative methods exhibit higher data dispersion, which has impact on method robustness and precision, among other variables [4].…”