A novel integrating probe for whole tablet Raman Spectrometry

The Pharmaceutical industry is the UK’s highest added-value industry. Two key problems in the production of pharmaceutical tablets are counterfeit products and the lack of whole tablet measurements. This feasibility study will investigate a possible solution whereby a standard COTS spectrometer can be made into a whole tablet sampling device by using a new and innovative sampling probe. Raman spectrometry is used as a QC technique but currently only very expensive systems can sample more than very small target areas. The proposed probe will uniformly mix then capture the light emitted from an entire 6mm tablet, enabling bulk measurement of a whole tablet using a relatively cheap COTS spectrometer and providing a complete solution for under £40k. It could potentially be made rugged enough for field deployment in many areas, such as forensic and law enforcement for illegal drug identification.