Quantitative analysis of drug tablet aging by sparse spectral sampling stimulated Raman scattering microscopy

Pharmaceutical development of solid-state formulations requires testing for uniformity and stability of active pharmaceutical ingredients and excipients. Solid-state properties such as component distribution and grain size are crucial factors of dissolution profile, which greatly affect drug efficacy and toxicity, and can only be analyzed spatially by chemical imaging (CI) techniques. Current CI techniques such as near infrared and confocal Raman spectroscopy do not offer high chemical and spatial resolution at speeds feasible for integration into the pharmaceutical quality control and quality assurance processes. We demonstrate fast chemical imaging by epi-detected sparse spectral sampling stimulated Raman scattering to quantify API and excipient degradation and distribution.