{"id":18634,"date":"2024-11-26T08:00:48","date_gmt":"2024-11-26T08:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thermofisher.com\/blog\/behindthebench\/?p=18634"},"modified":"2024-12-05T20:06:22","modified_gmt":"2024-12-05T20:06:22","slug":"should-uv-vis-be-used-to-confirm-the-quality-of-ibuprofen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thermofisher.com\/blog\/behindthebench\/should-uv-vis-be-used-to-confirm-the-quality-of-ibuprofen\/","title":{"rendered":"Should UV-Vis be used to Confirm the Quality of Ibuprofen?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ibuprofen, a widely used medication for treating pain, fever, and inflammation, is an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) whose quality must be rigorously controlled. The United States Pharmacopeia (USP) and European Pharmacopoeia (EP) have developed detailed written reports \u2013 referred to as monographs \u2013 that outline specific identification tests, procedures, and acceptance criteria to ensure the strength, quality, and purity of ibuprofen.<\/p>\n

Spectrophotometric tests are crucial to confirming the identity and testing the purity of ibuprofen samples in pharmaceutical quality control laboratories<\/a>, so these monographs contain detailed instructions utilizing a variety of analytical instrumentation used in the testing.\u00a0 The various analytical techniques include infrared absorption spectroscopy, ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy, melting point analysis, and chromatography.<\/p>\n

The spectrophotometric ibuprofen identification test according to the EP ibuprofen monograph requires measuring a test sample and comparing the ratios of its absorbance values to confirm they are within an acceptable range. We took a look at the use of UV-Vis spectrophotometers to perform the essential identification tests for ibuprofen as described in the USP and EP monographs, and have outlined below the tests we performed and the results.<\/p>\n

What is UV-Vis<\/h2>\n

UV-Vis, or Ultraviolet-Visible Spectroscopy, is a non-destructive analytical technique used to measure the absorbance or reflectance of a sample in the ultraviolet and visible regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. The technique is commonly employed to determine the concentration of a substance in solution, analyze the purity of compounds, and study the electronic transitions in molecules.<\/p>\n

In UV-Vis spectroscopy, a sample is exposed to light in the UV (typically 200-400 nm) and visible (typically 400-700 nm) wavelength ranges. The instrument measures the intensity of light before and after it passes through the sample. These intensities can be used to calculate absorbance as the loss of light intensity as it passes through a sample arises from the absorption of photons,. According to Beer-Lambert’s law<\/a>, a linear relationship exists between absorbance and analyte concentration.<\/p>\n

Testing with UV-Vis<\/h2>\n

The identification tests for ibuprofen were carried out using a UV-Vis spectrophotometer.<\/a> The procedure involved comparing the absorbance spectra of a test sample of ibuprofen against a standard ibuprofen sample. The USP and EP monographs provide specific instructions on how these tests should be conducted.<\/p>\n

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  1. USP Identification Test:<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n