CONPHIRMER

Counterfeit Pharmaceuticals Interception using Radiofrequency Methods in Realtime

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'The CONPHIRMER consortium has come together to put into the hands of customs officers and other agents of law enforcement a portable and easy-to-use sensor for telling genuine medicines from fakes without having to remove the medicines from their packaging. With this device agencies charged with tackling the growing menace of the trafficking in counterfeit medicines will be able to screen packaged pharmaceuticals at EU borders and airports quickly and accurately using a non-invasive and non-destructive technology that uses only harmless radio waves.

The proposal is for a three-year programme leading to the trialing of a prototype, portable, handheld scanner, that will draw on the expertise of seven organisations in five states, including two recent additions to the EU family, Poland and Slovenia. The technology employed will be based on quadrupole resonance (QR), a radiofrequency (RF) spectroscopic technique that has already been developed and deployed for the detection of concealed explosives. The completed prototype will not require operators to have special chemical or technical knowledge to deploy it, allowing training in its use to be completed quickly; and it will utilise only easy to source RF and electrical parts, unlike alternative technologies such as Raman, infra-red or terahertz spectroscopic methods. It will also offer a clear advantage over these other technologies in that RF can penetrate even multiple layers of packaging material, allowing for scans to be carried out without the need to remove pharmaceutical products from their packaging.'

Introduzione (Teaser)

Globalisation has opened up markets, but this has also increased problems with regard to preventing the marketing of counterfeit goods, particularly medicines. EU-funded scientists are working on developing a device to detect fake drugs at borders and airports to contain this growing menace.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

The project 'Counterfeit pharmaceuticals interception using radiofrequency methods in realtime' (http://www.conphirmer.eu (CONPHIRMER)) will exploit quadrupole resonance (QR) spectroscopy to build such a prototype. QR technology will utilise radio frequency (RF) to excite and detect specific atoms such as the active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) present in genuine drugs.

Researchers drew up a protocol to develop a database of frequently counterfeited medicines such as sildenafil and orlistat along with their QR fingerprints based on APIs. For testing purposes and QR development, paracetamol was chosen due to its wide availability in different formulations and packaging as well as low cost.

Correlating QR responses to a particular drug requires a comprehensive characterisation of the QR responses of different APIs. Researchers compared the QR responses of several medicines with different APIs using multiple RF pulse sequences. These were monitored in a time-specific manner and their frequency response, as well as intensity were determined.

Simultaneously, scientists worked on developing better second-generation detection and classification algorithms based on first-generation techniques.

The computational capacity and interference cancellation of current algorithms were optimised. However, work is ongoing to further optimise noise reduction and improve signal processing capabilities for testing experimental data.

Scientists successfully demonstrated a laboratory-based proof-of-concept for each aspect of the QR-based medicines authentication system, but the prototype development is in initial stages. To reduce device complexity, size and weight, scientists are also working on reducing RF excitation power for QR tests.

The final portable, battery-powered device prototype will contain a handheld antenna to capture QR signals from medicines. The main part of the device will contain the RF spectrometer, RF power amplifier and computer control.

Successful development and commercialisation of this QR spectrometer prototype will enable the non-invasive and non-destructive testing of medicines while they are in their packaging. Customs and other law enforcement agents will then be able to quickly and reliably differentiate between genuine and fake medicines.

The growing menace of increased trafficking in fake drugs can thus be effectively contained, thereby saving millions of lives.