New Spectral Database for Counterfeit Drugs
Swiss researchers have developed a database of fake medicines using Raman spectrometry data in order to help investigators follow the counterfeit distribution chain from manufacturers to distributors internationally.
The University of Lausanne and Roche are using near-infrared and Raman spectra, as well as gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy to build chemical profiles for distinct counterfeit types, reports Securing Pharma.
Using the model of a new counterfeit, law enforcement officials will be able to compare it to other counterfeits to find related products.
“The model is able to compare the spectrum of a new counterfeit with that of previously analyzed products and to determine if a new specimen belongs to one of the existing classes, consequently allowing to establish a link with other counterfeits of the database,” write researchers Frederic Been, Yves Roggo, Klara Degardin, Pierre Esseiva and Pierre Margot in Foresnic Science International.