A Fingerprint in a Fingerprint: A Raman Spectral Analysis of Pharmaceutical Ingredients

The fingerprint region in mid-infrared (IR) and Raman spectroscopy, typically between 300 to 1900 cm(-1), is used to characterize molecules by utilizing their vibrational and rotational changes in this region. In this study, a smaller subset of this Raman spectral region was evaluated for its significance in characterizing pharmaceutical products. This narrower region from 1550 to 1900 cm-1 in the Raman spectrum will further be defined as the "fingerprint in the fingerprint" region. A spectral evaluation was conducted on active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in prescription drugs, over-the-counter drugs, and pharmaceutical drug products. Qualitative and quantitative analysis was performed on these products to gain an understanding of this spectral region. The qualitative results showed no Raman spectral signals in this region for any of the common excipients. Additionally, all APIs evaluated had unique Raman vibrations and spectral signals in this region. This data indicates that the 1550-1900 cm(-1) Raman spectral region is ideal for API identity testing. Furthermore, the data indicate the potential of this spectral region for differentiation and classification of API content in different strengths of a given drug product.