For the first time commercially, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can be combined with conventional spectroscopic measurements with PharmaSense from Oxford Instruments Molecular Biotools
At this year's Controlled Release Society Meeting (CRS) New York, (12-16 July) Oxford Instruments Molecular Biotools launches PharmaSense, specifically designed to address the needs of the drug formulation community within the pharmaceutical industry.
This will allow drug formulation chemists to determine the ways in which tablets and capsules hydrate, swell, erode and release their active ingredients.
Using PharmaSense, scientists will gain a deeper insight into the mechanisms of drug release which could impact in enhanced tablet design, potentially improving drug efficacy and patient compliance.
PharmaSense is an integrated MR imager and USP-4 compatible dissolution flow cell system.
MRI allows the detection of the presence and movement of protons in water or lipids, producing 2 or 3D images which can provide information such as water ingress into a support matrix (hydration and gel formation), and understanding into the mechanism of controlled drug release.
Integration with the USP-4 compatible flow cell provides for an industry standard tablet dissolution environment.
Leading pharmaceutical companies, including AstraZeneca, are collaborating with OIMBL to evaluate the instrument.
"We are extremely excited about the launch of PharmaSense at this year's CRS and are delighted to announce that we are ready to run customer samples and discuss delivery and pricing with potential users.
"At CRS we have both a presentation of PharmaSense at our booth and a presentation in the main academic session" said Frank Trundle, managing director OIMBL.
As part of the development of PharmaSense OIMBL has been collaborating with Prof Karsten Maeder, an expert in drug delivery from the Martin-Luther University of Halle.
Prof Maeder said: "Non-invasive imaging technologies play a key role in the development of better drug delivery systems.
"Although the usefulness of MRI at this field has been generally recognised, MRI has so far been scarcely used due to the high installation and running cost.
"The new PharmaSense instrument is a breakthrough because it provides excellent resolution at much lower cost".
Frank Trundle said: "PharmaSense is an exciting new instrument.
"By combining MRI and a USP-4 compatible dissolution flow cell, it could help drug formulation chemists enhance tablet design, and so improve drug efficacy and patient compliance".
PharmaSense is a stand alone instrument with a minimal foot print.
It allows for single user operation and provides software for both data acquisition and analysis.
