Applications of quantitative13C NMR in pharmaceutical analysis: From small molecule drugs to biopolymers

Tang Q.; Wang S.; Zhai X.; Kim S.B.; Achanta P.; Malca-Garcia G.R.; Nishizaki Y.; Wang Y.; Tang Y. · Journal of Pharmaceutical Analysis (2026) · DOI: 10.1016/j.jpha.2025.101346

Resumen

Chemical integrity is indispensable for advancing healthcare by ensuring the availability of high quality, safe, and effective pharmaceutical products. Ingredient quantification is particularly pivotal in this process. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is a powerful tool for both qualitative and quantitative analysis for complex systems. Compared with 1D quantitative1H NMR (1H qNMR), quantitative13C NMR (13C qNMR) holds some unique advantages. This technique offers a broader chemical shift range and the resulting much lesser signal overlap compare to1H NMR spectroscopy. This review summarizes relevant studies on the use of13C qNMR as a quantification technique, along with a focus on quantitative principles, influencing factors, and technical improvements of13C NMR. The review also highlights its applicability in quantifying diverse molecular structures in pharmaceutical analysis. In addition, potential of low-field NMR, artificial intelligence (AI)-driven method development, and hyphenation of NMR with other techniques for13C qNMR analysis is discussed and summarized as well. As a versatile method,13C qNMR holds great potential, and ongoing research is expected to unlock its full capabilities and expand its range of applications.

Instituciones: Universidad Nacional de Trujillo