Stable isotopic composition of the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) naproxen

A survey of the multi-stable isotopic composition of an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), naproxen, was performed to assess the potential of Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry (IRMS) to distinguish the provenance of APIs. Twenty-six lots of naproxen from six manufacturers representing four countries (Italy, India, Ireland, and the USA) were analyzed for three isotope ratios (13C/12C, 18O/16O, and D/H). The samples were analyzed by either Elemental Analyzer/Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry (EA/IRMS: carbon (δ13C)) or by Thermal Conversion-EA/IRMS (TCEA/IRMS: hydrogen (δD) and oxygen (δ18O)). Bivariate and trivariate isotope ratio graphs for naproxen show marked clustering of the data for five out of the six naproxen manufacturers, suggesting that IRMS may be a plausible means to screen for manufacturer of given APIs.