Raw Material Verification Test

Raw material identification and verification is important and often a requirement for any industry. For example, devices used in the pharmaceutical industry provide molecular fingerprinting of measured samples and enable non-destructive identification and verification of materials such as pharmaceutical active ingredients, ancillary ingredients, intermediates and finished products. It is also a well-known method for 100 percent identity assurance for starting materials.

With these devices, non-contact analysis is performed through transparent containers while maintaining the volume and integrity of the sample.

Raw material authentication is the process of accepting or rejecting the known identity of the requested material. The measured spectrum of the incoming material is compared to the reference library spectrum or spectra of that material to verify its identity.

Essentially, two main techniques are used in raw material verification tests: FTIR-ATR technique and MALDI TOF MS technique.

Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy - attenuated total reflection (FTIR-ATR) technique provides information regarding the chemical makeup of polymer materials as well as the presence or absence of certain functional groups. In general, shifts in frequency of absorption bands and changes in relative band intensities indicate changes in the chemical structure or environment around the sample. Therefore, FTIR-ATR spectroscopy is particularly used to determine the surface chemistry that occurs after induced chemical or physical modifications.

MALDI-TOF MS (mass spectrometry) technique, on the other hand, is an analytical technique in which particles are ionized, separated according to their mass/charge ratio and measured by determining the time it takes for ions to go to the detector after a certain time. In this technique, the ion source is a matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) and the mass analyzer is a time-of-flight (TOF) analyzer.

The presence of the wrong material in a production process can compromise safety. Therefore, a test should be performed before use to verify the identity of incoming raw materials. Inspection of incoming raw materials is an important step in many industries to verify receipt of the correct raw material meeting quality specifications. It ensures the final product is of the best quality and minimizes wasted time, material costs and delayed shipping if specifications are not met, while also increasing safety.

Our organization also provides raw material verification testing services with its trained and expert staff and advanced technological equipment, among the numerous test, measurement, analysis and evaluation studies it provides for businesses in various sectors.