Discrimination of some expired and unexpired drugs under different conditions using Fourier Transform infrared-Attenuated Total Reflectance

Repackaging of expired medicines has become common in developed countries and can cause serious health problems. Therefore, the identification of these products is of considerable importance. This study investigated the applicability of an analytical method based on Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy combined with chemometrics for separating two types of expired and non-expired tablets. The study focuses on vildagliptin, collagen, and vitamin tablets and represents a preliminary study for different types of tablets. Instrumental conditions were determined by central composite design. As a result of the the variance analysis, it was found that the pressure parameter was significant, while the number of scans and resolution were insignificant. The optimum instrumental conditions were determined as attenuated total reflection module pressure 57, scan number 20, and spectral resolution 4 cm-1. Derivatizing spectra were used to find major peaks that make a significant difference. As a result of principal component analysis, PC1 in the 92-96.9% and PC2 in the range of 6.6-3% range explained the total variance. In the results obtained, significant discrimination and clustering between the species were seen, and for all three species, expired and non-expired drug samples with different storage conditions could be separated. Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy can be helpful in screening for counterfeit drugs as it is easy to use and requires little sample preparation. It is also thought that this approach may be helpful for the initial evaluation of repackaged tablets.