Transfer of NIR calibrations for pharmaceutical formulations between different instruments

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Pharmaceutical Technology
• Spectroscopy

Background:

• Near-Infrared (NIR) spectroscopy is crucial for analyzing pharmaceutical formulations.
• Transferring analytical calibrations between different NIR instruments is challenging but essential for widespread application.
• Existing calibration transfer methods need evaluation for their efficacy with solid pharmaceutical products.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the performance of established calibration transfer techniques for Near-Infrared (NIR) spectroscopy.
• To evaluate the feasibility of transferring calibrations between diverse NIR instrument types and configurations for solid pharmaceutical assays.
• To compare the effectiveness of slope/bias correction, local centering, and piecewise direct standardization (PDS) methods.

Main Methods:

• Utilized two dispersive NIR instruments and one Fourier transform (FT) NIR instrument.
• Tested three calibration transfer methods: slope/bias correction, local centering, and PDS.
• Evaluated transferability across instruments with different configurations and types for four active ingredient assays.

Main Results:

• All tested calibration transfer methods demonstrated comparable performance.
• Successful calibration transfer was achieved between instruments of different types and configurations without loss of predictive ability.
• Slope/bias correction requires more samples with greater active ingredient variation compared to local centering.
• PDS requires optimization of sample selection and method-specific factors for successful transfer.

Conclusions:

• Calibration transfer using NIR spectroscopy is viable for solid pharmaceutical formulations across various instruments.
• Local centering is the preferred method due to its excellent performance, simplicity, minimal sample requirement, and independence from sample content variation.
• The study confirms the potential for robust calibration transfer, enhancing the flexibility and applicability of NIR spectroscopy in pharmaceutical analysis.