Microwave Cavity Perturbation With 3-D Printed Sample Holders for Detection of Counterfeit Drugs

Counterfeit drugs are rife across developing nations, production, and trade of these substandard and fake drugs for monetary benefit imperils thousands of innocent lives and puts extra stress on the already struggling health-care system of populous countries. Methods like printing of anti-counterfeit labels with holograms and QR codes partially solve the issue by tracking and eliminating forged packagings. However, ingredient-based testing is inevitable for quality checks, especially when the contents and their respective concentrations are to be analyzed. Ingredient analysis mostly includes techniques like infrared and Raman spectroscopy, isotope characterization, and mass spectrometry. We used microwave cavity perturbation with 3-D printed sample holders for instant detection of counterfeits in a variety of drugs. The method is based on the screening of samples through dielectric measurements. The applicability of the proposed method was tested and verified on the genuine and counterfeited samples of capsulated oral drugs, tablets, gel-based antibiotics, and pain relief tubes.