Pharmaceutical applications of variable-angle synchronous scanning fluorescence spectroscopy

The development of variable-angle synchronous scanning (v.a.s.s.) in fluorescence spectrometry is reported, based on a computer-aided spectrofluorimeter. The technique permits a linear path to be scanned at any preselected angle through the emission-excitation matrix defined by (I_em, λ_em, λ_ex), by effectively scanning the emission and the excitation monochromators at different speeds under computer control. When applied to pharmaceutical dosage forms, v.a.s.s. gave good selectivity for chlorpromazine in the presence of its principal degradation product, chlorpromazine sulphoxide, and for oxytetracycline in the presence of the additives vitamin C, thiamine, nicotinamide and riboflavin. Good calibration linearity, precision and recovery were observed for both principal drug components. The angle of the scan trajectory can also be varied continuously through the emission-excitation matrix, to describe any desired path under computer control. This novel technique of non-linear v.a.s.s. can provide an improved method for generating diagnostic profiles of drugs, degradation products and metabolites.