The new qNMR tool that makes quantification and QA/QC a breeze

We are thrilled to introduce Nanalysis’ latest value-added software module, qNMR.

Quantitative NMR (more commonly referred to as qNMR) is an outstanding tool that’s getting more attention because it is a great way to accurately quantify one or multiple analytes, the sample preparation is easy, the experiment time is short and you can use any substance of known purity as internal calibrants unlike chromatographic methods where reference material of the same identity as the analyte are required. Furthermore, you’re facing much lower running costs due to less solvent being used and lower disposal volumes compared to HPLC assays. We have written multiple application notes, peer-reviewed publications, and blog posts to explain qNMR in detail and to show its utility in multiple industrial settings that we encourage you to review.

To help qNMR find its way quickly into QA/QC environments, we have automated the analysis to remove the expertise barrier to this powerful technique. Additionally, user permission levels guarantee integration into GMP workflows with administrators having full access for creating and modifying methods by defining the acquisition parameters, the integral ranges, or other settings, while technicians cannot do something wrong in their restricted area.

To give an example let’s create and run a quantification method for Ibuprofen purity determination for outgoing goods. First, the administrator’s view on developing a new method (Figure 1) by defining the appropriate acquisition parameters, and inserting some specifics, mainly regarding the calibrant and analyte nature, then saving the method with a title that allows technicians to easily identify it.

Figure 1. Creating a method in a protected setup application is easy and powerful. Left: acquisition parameters (excerpt); right: method parameters (excerpt).

Intuitively, the lock tool allows you to selectively block or unblock acquisition parameters that you may or may not want a technician to modify when running the method later. This allows for better flexibility and can be helpful if you desire to create methods for broader application where similar but different samples are measured (like products with varying component ratios, so the number of scans can be set for minimizing total experiment time while all other parameters are fixed; of course, you can choose to duplicate and modify the method for each concentration range, or always run a long method with the lowest LOD for covering for any concentration).

You see, automating a QA/QC method with our qNMR value-added software module is straightforward, intuitive and we considered real life scenarios to make your life easy.

From the perspective of a technician, things couldn’t be simpler: just load the desired method (based on an SOP if you wish) and run a fully quantitative NMR analysis with the push of a button (Figure 2).

Figure 2. For executing a method, simply select and run it. You don’t need to worry about any NMR experiment parameters.

For automated calculation of the analyte purity, the technician is just requested to insert specifics from the sample preparation like analyte weight, batch number, calibrant weight, and calibrant purity. Each replicate will be displayed separately in its own tab (Figure 3). Then, at the end of the acquisition, the purity is calculated, and all spectral data is stored as JCAMP dx file and the calculation results are exported as csv file (Figure 4) for effortless transfer of the results to your QA/QC management system.

Figure 3. The recorded spectra of the number of replicates as chosen are displayed in individual tabs.

Figure 4. All integration areas and calculations are stored in a readable format (csv) for further data handling.

In summary, once a qNMR method is developed and saved, it is available for routine accurate purity determination without any knowledge about NMR parameters or analysis, making this tool a great asset for any QA/QC application.

Please make sure to watch our video and reach out to us to learn more.