Olympus Innov-X introduced its BTX Bench top X-Ray Diffractometer (XRD) for pharmaceutical compound fingerprinting at PITTCON 2011.
All drug formulations have a unique fingerprint of both active and inactive ingredients that identifies the efficacy and brand of each drug. Drug manufacturers have a responsibility to consumers: To use the correct formulations of their products to be sure that they are safe, and doing what they are intended to do. Incorrect formulations containing foreign or substitute ingredients can jeopardize a patient's well-being. Additionally, when incorrect or counterfeit formulations are distributed under a brand name, the reputation of the manufacturer is at risk. Drug manufacturers must protect their business interests by ensuring that the correct formulations of their products are being distributed. This will ensure that patients are receiving the correct formulation, that their branding isn't compromised by counterfeiters, and that they have documented fingerprint records of all their drug and formulation steps.
A non-destructive fingerprinting method for drug formulations is essential for pharmaceutical manufacturers. It offers factual support for patent and other legal records as well as retention of the original powder material if needed. A drug formulation, at any stage, can be quickly scanned for its fingerprint by measuring its crystalline structure. Pharmaceutical fingerprinting is commonly done using XRD. The BTX combines both XRD fingerprinting and XRF elemental ID to perform rapid, thorough identification with its unique sample handling system in a low-cost, small footprint bench top configuration.
For more information on the use of the BTX for compound identification, please visit http://www.olympus-ims.com/en/xrf-xrd/mobile-benchtop-xrd/btx/.
