Contaminant and impurity analysis is the scientific process of elucidating the identity and isolating unknown materials in chemicals, polymers, packaging, consumer products, pharmaceuticals, medical devices and other finished products. Sources of these contaminants and impurities can vary. They can derive from the manufacturing process, which includes raw materials, by-products, intermediates, reagents, catalysts, process aids or the manufacturing equipment itself. It can also result from the manner in which any of the starting materials or finished product are stored resulting not only in contaminants or impurities, but also degradation products as well.
Whether it's determining the identity of a contaminant or impurity, or creating a method to remove unwanted contaminants, our chemists have the experience and knowledge needed in applying the appropriate techniques to arrive at meaningful answers and solutions.
There are three groups of contaminant or impurities which can be evaluated and identified when conducting analysis:
- Organic impurities
- Inorganic impurities
- Residual solvents
The presence of a contaminant or impurity can delay development, cause unwanted publicity and result in a recall of a product
How Quantum Analytics Group Can Help
Contaminant and impurity testing is complex and can involve the use of multiple analytical techniques and advance instrumentation. It also requires more than just simply testing. At Quantum, our highly experienced and skilled scientists provide problem solving services to identify the presence and source of the contaminant or impurity. We work with you to provide a customized solution to your contaminant or impurity identification and analysis needs - from analyzing raw material, active ingredients, and intermediates, to investigating various aspects of the manufacturing process itself. And, we have an extensive background in solving problems involving consumer products, personal care products, pharmaceuticals, specialty chemicals, packaging, electronics, and much more.
We have been called upon to perform contaminant and impurities testing involving off-odor/flavor investigations, off-color problems, product failure, the presence on unknown artifacts in products and foreign particles in products, to name but a few. Some sources of contaminants have been from the environment, from improper storage of the product, or due to poor quality raw materials. We work closely with you to trace the source of contamination and develop a realistic corrective action program.
Our Capabilities and Analytical Techniques Include
- Chromatograph: multi-detector Gas Chromatography and Liquid Chromatography.
- Mass Spectrometry: GC-MS and LC-MS, including Tandem MS/MS capabilities
- Elemental/Metals Analysis: Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (Flame and Graphite Furnace), ICP-AES/ICP-OES, and ICP-MS.
- HPLC Testing: Both HPLC and UPLC for purity determinations, contaminants, material and chemical identification, and much more.
- Infrared Spectroscopy: Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) for molecular fingerprints of unknowns and molecular characterization.
- Other- XRD, XRF, TGA, SEM