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Raman and infrared spectroscopy offered researchers different ways to examine counterfeit artesunate, an antimalarial medicine: Raman methods could gather chemical information, including through blister packaging, while infrared imaging could map ingredient-rich regions on a tablet’s surface. This was laboratory analysis of genuine and fake tablets—not a consumer test for checking a medicine at home.
What the 2007 report was about
Simon Hadlington’s Chemistry World report, published on 29 October 2007, concerned using Raman and infrared spectroscopy to spot fake malaria tablets. Imperial College London’s spectroscopy group identifies the article with its work on FTIR imaging of fake antimalarial drugs. The article’s indexed description and the research abstracts establish that focus; they do not support reconstructing unseen article details or attributing quotations.
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The related study examined genuine and fake artesunate tablets using Raman spectroscopy, spatially offset Raman spectroscopy (SORS), and attenuated total reflection Fourier-transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) imaging. The methods were complementary: they did not all produce the same kind of information.
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| Method | Reported role in the cited research | What that adds |
|---|---|---|
| Raman spectroscopy | Used with SORS and ATR-FTIR imaging to characterize genuine and fake artesunate tablets. | Chemical characterization. |
| SORS | Provided depth-resolving, non-invasive composition information through several types of packaging. | Information from a sample without first opening its packaging. |
| ATR-FTIR imaging | Mapped surface domains of active ingredients and excipients. The study abstract describes high sensitivity and enhanced spatial resolution. | A spatial picture of how components are distributed across the tablet surface. |
Here, “excipients” means the other ingredients in a tablet besides its active drug. Mapping where those materials occur can provide a different view from identifying chemical signals through packaging. The study abstract describes the analytical roles, but it does not establish a general accuracy rate or show that any one method alone can authenticate every medicine.
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How later studies extended the approach
FTIR imaging paired with mass spectrometry
A separate 2007 study combined FTIR imaging with desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (DESI-MS) to analyse counterfeit antimalarial tablets. FTIR imaging detected the distribution of components; DESI-MS was used to confirm component identities. Together, the techniques supplied spatial and identification information, rather than relying on the imaging result alone.
Portable Raman screening examined in 2008
A 2008 study assessed a hand-held Raman instrument for in-situ screening of potentially counterfeit artesunate tablets. Researchers validated the screening work using FT-Raman spectroscopy and ambient mass spectrometry. That historical assessment does not show that the instrument is currently available, regulator-approved, or suitable for consumers.
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What this means—and does not mean—for patients
These papers describe specialist analytical work on artesunate tablets. They do not establish a home method, a current field-ready product, or a validated consumer procedure for deciding whether a medicine is genuine. No study-specific numerical performance statistic or sample-size figure central to the 2007 findings is established in the accessible records summarized here, so a precise detection rate would be misleading.
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Sources
- Simon Hadlington, “Forging ahead of the counterfeiters,” Chemistry World, 29 October 2007 (indexed description).
- Imperial College London, Vibrational Spectroscopy and Chemical Imaging group, Industrial outreach.
- Ricci et al., 2007 study of genuine and fake artesunate tablets using FTIR imaging and SORS through blister packs.
- Ricci et al., 2007 study combining FTIR imaging and DESI-MS for counterfeit antimalarial tablets.
- Ricci et al., 2008 assessment of hand-held Raman instrumentation for potentially counterfeit artesunate tablets.
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