Tracking Counterfeit Medicines Through Chemical Fingerprints

Medicines person a unsocial chemic fingerprint, according to a caller study from nan University of Copenhagen. Researchers opportunity this knowledge tin beryllium utilized to trace counterfeit aliases stolen medicine.

426,016. That's really galore packages of forbidden medicines EU agencies confiscated during an eight-month cognition successful 2024. During nan operation, they managed to find counterfeit medicines worthy 11.1 cardinal euros. And it's an progressively bigger problem. "Pharmaceutical crime is simply a increasing threat successful nan EU," Europol stated earlier this year.

Fortunately, a caller limb against pharmaceutical counterfeiting whitethorn beryllium connected nan way. Researchers from nan University of Copenhagen and Stanford University person shown successful a caller study that it is imaginable to separate seemingly identical medicines astatine nan molecular level – some crossed manufacturers successful different countries and moreover from nan aforesaid manufacturer.

The circumstantial study examines nan approved supplier ibuprofen, but nan underlying exertion tin beryllium utilized to trace nan root of each types of medicine, according to nan researchers.

"All medicines person a unsocial chemic fingerprint that allows recognition down to nan circumstantial mill wherever it was produced," says Else Holmfred, Postdoc astatine nan Department of Pharmacy astatine nan University of Copenhagen and Stanford University, and lead writer of nan caller study. She adds:

"Imagine a pharmaceutical institution has a shipment of medicine stolen, which was discarded owed to insufficient quality. Later, immoderate criminals repackage nan medicine pinch nan intent to resell it. With this technology, it's imaginable to accurately find wherever nan medicine primitively came from and thereby beryllium it was stolen."

How plants turn leaves unsocial traces

In nan study, researchers attraction connected variants of chemic elements – alleged isotopes – erstwhile identifying medicines and their origin: isotopes of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen.

Stable isotopes are incredibly useful because they don't alteration complete thousands aliases millions of years. And since each medicines are made from synthesized integrated substances aliases substances derived from plants, they ever incorporate thing integrated and frankincense carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. This could be, for example, maize starch aliases cellulose."

Stefan Stürup, Associate Professor astatine nan Department of Pharmacy and co-author of nan study

The substances utilized successful medicine are each produced nether unsocial conditions, which affects their isotopic signature.

"The isotopic creation of a works constituent is wished by wherever successful nan world it comes from, what type of h2o it used, and what type of photosynthesis it performs. Depending connected this, nan ratio betwixt carbon-12 and carbon-13 changes slightly. This ratio is unsocial to each plant. That's why it's intolerable to clone isotopes," says Stefan Stürup.

Proving circumstantial counterfeits

The adjacent measurement successful nan investigation is to show that circumstantial counterfeits tin beryllium found. Else Holmfred is investigating this successful an upcoming study.

"The follow-up study hasn't been published yet, but I'm presently moving pinch information wherever we tin intelligibly spot examples of counterfeit medicines. We tin spot that nan counterfeit medicine has a importantly different isotopic signature than nan medicine from nan manufacturer. The tablets look almost identical, truthful it's difficult to archive that they're counterfeit unless you tin chemically beryllium they're different," she says.

Such analyses of medicines are besides comparatively easy to implement. It conscionable requires nan correct equipment.

"If you person a suitable laboratory and want to analyse 50 samples, it takes astir 24 hours," says Else Holmfred.