New method for detecting and characterising drug physical form

A recent paper in the journal Analytical Chemistry, by PhD student, Andreea Iuraş and colleagues from the LBSA in the School of Pharmacy and AstraZeneca has demonstrated a new method for detecting and mapping the physical form of a drug. Using time-of-flight secondary-ion mass spectroscopy (ToF-SIMS) on amorphous and crystallized forms of a number of drugs the authors show how Tof-SIMS can locate and analyse crystalline and amorphous drug material from the surface of drug particles. This method is extremely sensitive and provides a new tool to help the development of solid dosage forms and is particularly relevant to formulations designed for dry powder inhalers as used for example to treat COPD and asthma.

Images: Indomethacin crystalline nuclei in an amorphous film observed by two microscopy techniques: (top) polarized microscopy and (bottom) ToF-SIMS