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Characterization of genuine and fake artesunate anti-malarial tablets using Fourier transform infrared imaging and spatially offset Raman spectroscopy through blister packs

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Abstract

In support of the efforts to combat the illegal sale and distribution of counterfeit anti-malarial drugs, we evaluated a new analytical approach for the characterization and fast screening of fake and genuine artesunate tablets using a combination of Raman spectroscopy, Spatially Offset Raman Spectroscopy (SORS) and Attenuated Total Reflection-Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR-FTIR) imaging. Vibrational spectroscopy provided chemically specific information on the composition of the tablets; the complementary nature of Raman scattering and FTIR imaging allowed the characterization of both the overall and surface composition of the tablets. The depth-resolving power of the SORS approach provided chemically specific information on the overall composition of the tablets, non-invasively, through a variety of packaging types. Spatial imaging of the tablet surface (using ATR-FTIR) identified the location of domains of excipients and active ingredients with high sensitivity and enhanced spatial resolution. The advantages provided by a combination of SORS and ATR-FTIR imaging in this context confirm its potential for inclusion in the analytical protocol for forensic investigation of counterfeit medicines.

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Acknowledgement

CR and SGK would like to thank EPSRC for support (Grant EP/C532678/1). We are also grateful to Dr. Facundo Fernandez for helpful comments on the manuscript. The collection of samples was funded by the Wellcome Trust of Great Britain. We thank all those who assisted in the collection of samples. CE, NAM and PM wish to thank the CLIK Knowledge Transfer, the Science and Technology Facilities Council, EPSRC (grant EP/D037662/1), NESTA and Rainbow Seed Fund for their financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK

    Camilla Ricci & Sergei G. Kazarian

  2. Central Laser Facility, Science and Technology Facilities Council, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Oxfordshire, OX11 0QX, UK

    Charlotte Eliasson, Neil A. Macleod & Pavel Matousek

  3. Centre for Tropical Medicine, Churchill Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX3 7LJ, UK

    Paul N. Newton

  4. Wellcome Trust-Mahosot Hospital-Oxford University Tropical Medicine Research Collaboration, Microbiology Laboratory, Mahosot Hospital, Vientiane, Lao People’s Democratic Republic

    Paul N. Newton

Authors
  1. Camilla Ricci
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  2. Charlotte Eliasson
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  3. Neil A. Macleod
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  4. Paul N. Newton
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  5. Pavel Matousek
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  6. Sergei G. Kazarian
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Pavel Matousek or Sergei G. Kazarian.

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Ricci, C., Eliasson, C., Macleod, N.A. et al. Characterization of genuine and fake artesunate anti-malarial tablets using Fourier transform infrared imaging and spatially offset Raman spectroscopy through blister packs. Anal Bioanal Chem 389, 1525–1532 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-007-1543-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-007-1543-1

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