| Summary: | The word "counterfeit" describes anything that is not genuine but is presented
as or looks to be genuine in order to make or manufacture something and claim it is
genuine when it is not. Commercial counterfeiting is an age-old practise that thrives in
many countries and is primarily motivated by the enormous profits to be made. In
regions of Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, they account for 10%-50% of all
pharmaceuticals. In forensic science, a criminal could utilise these forged compounds
to risk the victim's life. Because the packaging and visual appearance of the counterfeit
drug are similar to those of the actual drugs, the investigator has difficulties identifying
it. Little thought is given to the possibility of using counterfeit pharmaceuticals as
evidence to establish a link between victim, suspect, and crime site by tracing the
manufacturer information of the medications. Given the range of analytical tools
available, such as chromatography and spectroscopy, differentiating counterfeit from
genuine products is becoming increasingly difficult, since they provide limited
information about the drug’s identity. Chemical assessment of pharmaceutical
packaging and content is facilitated by further screening with FTIR spectroscopy. The
aim of this study was to physically investigate and utilise attenuated total reflection
Fourier transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy to examine various original and
counterfeit medications, including Amaryl, Aircomb, and Diamicron MR. Three
counterfeit and three authentic samples of three different drugs (two anti-diabetic and one non-inflammatory) were collected from six separate manufacturers. Visual
inspection was used to conduct the initial physical examination of the medication
samples. The samples were then prepared for FTIR spectroscopy with potassium
bromide (KBr) particle using a Spectrum 100 FT-IR (Perkin-elmer, Waltham, MA,
USA) spectrometer. Physical examination of the medications revealed a plain and
straightforward distinction between counterfeit and authentic medications. For various
medications, the FTIR spectra revealed distinct peaks in the n fingerprint region and
functional group regions, containing bonds such as O-H groups, C=O, C=C, and C-H
at various wavelengths. As anticipated, the averaged spectral profiles of all studied
tablet types exhibited a high degree of similarity due to their similar chemical
composition. Nonetheless, there were still a few minor distinctions between the
functional group arrangements. In conclusion, visual evaluation combined with FTIR
spectroscopy is a highly effective method for distinguishing between distinct
medication brands. The application of the technique revealed methods of forensic
investigation that are rapid, robust, efficient, nondestructive, and cost-effective. Future
studies with larger sample sizes may investigate the value of medication samples
collected using other FTIR sampling instruments.
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