Princeton Instruments collaborates with C-SOPS on new pharmaceutical technology

May 24, 2018

Collaboration uses spectrometer on a novel pharmaceutical technology that enables close monitoring and control of drug manufacturing processes.

Conard Holton

Content Dam Lfw En Articles 2018 05 Princeton Instruments Collaborates With C Sops On New Pharmaceutical Technology Leftcolumn Article Thumbnailimage File

The Center for Structured Organic Particulate Systems (C-SOPS; headquartered at Rutgers University) and Princeton Instruments (Trenton, NJ) have signed a 6-month collaboration on a novel pharmaceutical technology that enables close monitoring and control of drug manufacturing processes. The research will be carried out by Rajesh Davé, distinguished professor of chemical engineering at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT; Newark, NJ) and the site-leader of C-SOPS, which is a NSF-funded Engineering Research Center.

C-SOPS includes partners NJIT, Purdue University, the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez, and more than 40 industrial companies. The primary instrument to be used in this collaboration is the Princeton Instruments FERGIE spectrometer.

Related: Raman Spectrometers: Emphasis on biosciences by senior editor John Wallace

Davé will use Raman spectroscopic measurements to monitor the formation of thin oral films that contain medicine and dissolve in the mouth without the need for water, including in the drying process during manufacturing, to determine drug amount, uniformity, and form. In addition, he will investigate the degradation processes of active pharmaceutical ingredients in solid-dose drugs.

“We are excited to use this technology, which allows us to better understand the manufacturing of these thin films that are loaded with drug particles and, depending on how the wet film dries, how that could potentially change the way drug particles are distributed,” Davé said. “Without disturbing the film, this monitoring, or ‘non-destructive testing,’ will allow pharmaceutical companies to not only improve film product quality, but guarantee their performance without additional testing, which can involve physically destroying some of the film samples.”

“We are extremely excited about this collaboration with Dr. Davé and C-SOPS. We are convinced that high performance spectrometers can provide unmatched capabilities for some of the most challenging applications in the pharmaceutical industry, like process monitoring of low dose and thin film coated drug manufacture,” said Peng Zou, product manager at Princeton Instruments.

Source: Princeton Instruments

About the Author

Conard Holton | Editor at Large

Conard Holton has 25 years of science and technology editing and writing experience. He was formerly a staff member and consultant for government agencies such as the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and the International Atomic Energy Agency, and engineering companies such as Bechtel. He joined Laser Focus World in 1997 as senior editor, becoming editor in chief of WDM Solutions, which he founded in 1999. In 2003 he joined Vision Systems Design as editor in chief, while continuing as contributing editor at Laser Focus World. Conard became editor in chief of Laser Focus World in August 2011, a role in which he served through August 2018. He then served as Editor at Large for Laser Focus World and Co-Chair of the Lasers & Photonics Marketplace Seminar from August 2018 through January 2022. He received his B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania, with additional studies at the Colorado School of Mines and Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.