Revised Ph. Eur. Chapter on Raman Spectroscopy introducing PAT

The revision of the General Ph. Eur. Chapter on Raman Spectroscopy (2.2.48) comes into operation on April 1, 2016.

The revised Chapter has been published in Ph. Eur. Supplement 8.7. It has been completely rewritten to include now available handheld devices and adaption to Process Analytical Technology (PAT). Raman Spectroscopy has received more and more attention in pharmaceutical industry. Hand-held instruments are suitable for rapid identification purposes for example in the incoming goods control of raw and packaging materials.

Hand-held instruments require different tolerances for wavenumber scale verification than benchtop models. Therefore, an inter-laboratory study was organized and the results have been published in a corresponding paper titled "Rationale for the update of the European Pharmacopoeia general chapter 2.2.48. Raman Spectroscopy" in Pharmeuropa Bio & Scientific Notes 2015.

In addition, the chapter has been revised to focus more on the potential use of Raman Spectroscopy in a PAT environment. Raman Spectrometry is increasingly used for PAT and chemical imaging applications. Therefore, a chapter on Chemical Imaging is also under elaboration. The draft chapter on Chemical Imaging will be published for public consultation in Pharmeuropa 28.2 (April 2016).    

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