Metal Removal From Fine Chemical Products

Metal contamination in various injectable or even oral medicines is a serious concern. Certain metals are not only harmful for human health, but also contribute to poor synthetic processing of fine chemicals.

Most synthetic drug products utilize intermediates in processing. Intermediates can include active drug components, solvents or fine chemicals used in processing and as precursors to final drug formulation. Metal contamination of intermediates must be reduced to ppm or trace levels in final drug products. Sources of metal contamination can include catalysts used in synthesis, process components such as tanks, valves and piping, and the solvents used in synthesis. All fine chemical producers and consumers are highly interested in the improvement of product quality to differentiate themselves from the competition and to comply with GMP requirements.

This 3M Purification Inc. Application Brief reviews the various processing methods used to remove metal contamination from fine chemicals and presents the use of Zeta Plus™ filter media as an alternative metal removing step.