Elemental Analysis
In Pharmaceutical manufacturing CHNS (O) Elemental Analysis is used for characterisation of API and intermediate. It determines the amount of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulphur, and oxygen in a sample. It is a reliable and cost effective test method which can be used to assure the behavior of pharmaceutical drugs, quality of biofuels, nitrogen in soil and compost CHNS (O) analysis can be used to confirm the purity of products at every stage to maintain and control the production, document and the product quality. Understanding the composition of the organic elements helps the analysts to determine the structure of the sample substance. It allows a fast, accurate assessment of elemental composition to be made with minimal sample preparation. This enables it to be used as a quick screening test to check that a pure chemical is within a defined specification either prior to use or during manufacturing. If impurities are found, more laborious techniques, such as LC-MS, may then be employed to identify the cause of the impurity.To cap it all, the chemical characterization of organic compounds is used in research as well as for quality control (QC).
What is Elemental Analysis?
Elemental analysis is a process where a sample of some material, mineral or chemical compound is analyzed for its elemental composition. It can be qualitative that determines the elements present in it and it can also be quantitative to determine how much of each are present.
Combustion of the Sample
The combustion of the sample generates uniform compound gasses of the elements
C, H, N and S. These combustion products (e.g. CO2, H2O, NO2, etc.) are measured
using gas chromatography.
C, H, N and S are determined simultaneously whereas O is analyzed by pyrolysis
in the next step. The CHNS content of a sample is determined by weighing the
sample and wrapping it in tin boats and for oxygen silver boats . High
temperature combustion of the sample (1150°C for CHNS analysis) in an oxygen
rich environment oxidizes the sample, this is followed by controlled reduction
of the gasses formed during combustion.
Through this process any carbon contained in the sample is converted to CO2,
hydrogen to H20, nitrogen to N2 and sulphur to SO2.
CHNS (O) Applications
CHNS analysis gives the percentage composition of each element in a sample.
Impurities can easily be identified. Due to the speed of analysis and ease of
sample preparation CHNS analysis is suited to being performed during a
manufacturing process to monitor the process.
Data produced by CHNSO elemental analysis helps scientists determine the
chemical composition and structure of an organic compound. Elemental analysis is
a fast, simple and inexpensive technique for determining chemical composition.