Detecting Counterfeit Drugs With Spectrophotometers

By Randy Klimek

Spectrophotometers are a special class of devices that are used to detect and to analyze visible wavelengths of light reflecting off of, or passing through, a sample object. There are many types and styles of spectrophotometers, each with a specialized purpose that can, for instance, analyze the colors of food and other products for health and quality inspections. Recently, however, spectrophotometry, the area of science in which spectrophotometers are used, has been used in the fight against fake and counterfeit drugs.

All chemical compounds will have specific color and reflectance profiles, and drug and medicine companies carefully document the colors of their specific compounds, both for quality control reasons and for patent and trademark reasons. The specific colors that appear on the surface of a compounded medication, or in a liquid, are affected by its specific chemical makeup and compounding techniques. Thus, chemical and pharmaceutical companies are able to build profiles of their products, and when the color and reflectance of a sample batch deviates from their standards, problems in manufacturing can be easily identified, and the tainted batches will not be introduced into circulation. Now, the same technique is in use both in the United States and abroad by government organizations such as the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) to detect and confiscate drugs and other chemicals when customs officers find drugs.