Majority of the pharmaceutical tablets and capsules available at the medical stores are film-coated for taste masking and for protection against moisture and light. The elemental concentration of the film-coated content should be carefully monitored otherwise it can be toxic. In the present work, the toxicity of some commercial antidiabetic tablets available in Pakistan has been checked by precise quantitative analyses of their elemental content using a novel method. The proposed technique combines calibration free laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (CF-LIBS) and laser ablation time of flight mass spectrometer (LA-TOF-MS) without using aggressive chemicals. The thickness and chemical composition of coating films are analyzed using cross-sectional scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). It is observed that the film-coating on the German sugar cure cores (GSCC) tablets consist of aluminum (50–100) μm and titanium (500–800) μm. In addition, the thicknesses of Glucophage and Zolid Plus tablets’ coatings are found to range from 20–30 μm and composed of titanium, carbon, oxygen, sodium and magnesium.
ا.د. وليد توفيق | Prof. Walid Tawfik | 4928