Thermo upgrades platform software

It has been a trend in the last few years for pharmaceutical companies to do exhaustive polymorph analysis and crystallisation studies on candidate drug compounds much earlier in the drug discovery and development process. The net result has been marked increase in the workload for the analytical groups in R&D.

Raman spectroscopy is an ideal technique for the analysis of drug compounds. Particularly sensitive to the subtle differences found between polymorphs and other crystal forms, Raman requires no disruption to the crystalline form of a material for its analysis.

The array automation software enables high throughput screening applications on Thermo's Nicolet, Almega, XR dispersive Raman and NXR FT-Raman spectrometer lines. Recent developments in Thermo's Raman instrumentation, such as automated well-plate, capillary tube array handling, and the MicroStage FT-Raman microscope, have enabled new high-throughput screening applications.

The Nicolet Almega XR dispersive Raman microscope analyses small amounts of individual crystals, while the FT-Raman spectrometer, using Thermo's MicroStage FT-Raman microscope, eliminates fluorescence interference. Thermo's array automation software automates the collection of spectra from either of these formats, and performs group or cluster analysis on the collected spectra.

Chris Petty, director for vibrational spectroscopy products at Thermo Electron​ said: "Prior to the array automation software, spectrum-to-spectrum comparison had to be done manually. Now, work that used to take a chemist half a day can be completed in five minutes."​

The array automation software integrates Raman analysis into the customer site workflow by communicating with the customer's LIMS. Thermo Electron provides validation for its Nicolet Almega XR dispersive and NXR FT-Raman spectrometers. Digital signature capabilities are also available to ensure compliance with in-house requirements.