Recovery of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients from Unused Solid Dosage-Form Drugs
Dhanang Edy Pratama, Wen-Chen Hsieh, Ahmed Elmaamoun, Hung Lin Lee, Tu Lee
Abstract
The concept of drug recycle by recovering active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) from unused tablets and capsules was demonstrated using acetaminophen, tetracycline HCl, and (R,S)-(±)-ibuprofen as case examples. The recovery process comprised three core unit operations: solid–liquid extraction, filtration, and crystallization. Recovery yields of 58.7 wt %, 73.1 wt %, and 67.6 wt % for acetaminophen, tetracycline HCl, and (R,S)-(±)-ibuprofen were achieved, respectively. More importantly, all of the APIs were of high purity based on high-performance liquid chromatography assay. The crystal forms of the recovered APIs were in conformity with the standards.
Topics & Concepts
Active ingredientChromatographyIbuprofenChemistryExtraction (chemistry)AcetaminophenFiltration (mathematics)Dosage formPharmacologyMedicineMathematicsStatisticsBiochemistryExtraction and Separation ProcessesPharmaceutical and Antibiotic Environmental ImpactsAnalytical chemistry methods development