Horiba Introduces AccuRA, a Non-Destructive, At-Line Tablet/Capsule Content Uniformity Measurement Solution based on Raman Spectroscopy

HORIBA Scientific introduces AccuRA, a non-destructive, at-line tablet/capsule content uniformity measurement solution based on Raman spectroscopy. Previous attempts at a PAT solution based on NIR spectroscopy have encountered limited success due to the lack of specificity and sensitivity to physical parameters intrinsic to NIR.

Even with intensive modeling and training sets, NIR sometimes failed to yield acceptable reproducibility, especially in actual QC environments. While it has been long demonstrated that Raman spectroscopy offers greater selectivity and independence from physical parameters, because conventional Raman measurements only sampled the surface of the dosage form, not the entire volume, these systems were not a viable candidate for content uniformity measurements.

Jointly developed with a major pharmaceutical company, the AccuRA system combines the advantages of Raman spectroscopy with a new transmission-mode measurement geometry which samples nearly the entire volume of the dosage form to create an optimized content uniformity measurement solution. The result is a system that yields excellent correlation with the current off-line destructive methods. Moreover, the measurement can be completed in a few seconds or less.

With its high accuracy and reproducibility, automated multiple tablet and capsule sample handling, fast results, and simple operation, AccuRA is finally a solution for content uniformity testing suitable not only for in initial formulation protocol development, but as a routinely usable PAT at-line method for QC.