Characterization and quantitation of aprepitant drug substance polymorphs by attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy

In this study, we report the use of attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FT-IR) for the identification and quantitation of two polymorphs of Aprepitant, a substance P antagonist for chemotherapy-induced emesis. Mixtures of the polymorph pair were prepared by weight and ATR-FT-IR spectra of the powdered samples were obtained over the wavelength range of 700-1500 cm(-1). Significant spectral differences between the two polymorphs at 1140 cm(-1) show that ATR-FT-IR can provide definitive identification of the polymorphs. To investigate the feasibility of ATR-FT-IR for quantitation of polymorphic forms of Aprepitant, a calibration plot was constructed with known mixtures of the two polymorphs by plotting the peak ratio of the second derivative of absorbance spectra against the weight percent of form II in the polymorphic mixture. Using this novel approach, 3 wt % of one crystal form could be detected in mixtures of the two polymorphs. The accuracy of ATR-FT-IR in determining polymorph purity of the drug substance was tested by comparing the results with those obtained by X-ray powder diffractometry (XRPD). Indeed, polymorphic purity results obtained by ATR-FT-IR were found to be in good agreement with the predictions made by XRPD and compared favorably with actual values in the known mixtures. The present study clearly demonstrates the potential of ATR-FT-IR as a quick, easy, and inexpensive alternative to XRPD for the determination of polymorphic identity and purity of solid drug substances. The technique is ideally suited for polymorph analysis, because it is precise, accurate, and requires minimal sample preparation.