Use of near-infrared spectroscopy to evaluate an active in a film coated tablet

Purpose. To provide a method to rapidly screen tablets in the development of new coating technology. Methods. Near-Infrared (NIR) reflectance spectroscopy was used to quantitatively analyze tablets which were composed of a drug active encasing an active drug core. Diffuse reflectance NIR scans of 240 individual tablets over the range of 1100-2500 nm were obtained. High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) was used as the reference method. Results, Both qualitative, Principal Component Analysis, and quantitative results showed a strong agreement between the NIR and HPLC methods. The NIR analysis was non-invasive and allowed subsequent testing of the tablets. The contents of the drug active contained in a drug coating was determined to +/-4% of the target value using NIR analysis. Over 400 samples were analyzed in less than a month utilizing this technique which allowed the optimization of a new coating technology. Conclusions. NIR analysis allowed the evaluation of the efficiency of a new drug film coating manufacturing process more quickly and inexpensively. Because the Near-Infrared method was non-invasive the tablets were available for further analysis unlike the chromatography method.