Analytical Methodologies for Pharmacy and Laboratory of Analytical Methodologies

The main objective of the course "Analytical methodologies for Pharmacy" is to provide in-depth knowledge on the official Pharmacopoeia, which is the national interface with the European Pharmacopoeia (EP) and the European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines & HealthCare (EDQM). In particular, it aims to offer a detailed overview of the main analytical methodologies included in the Pharmacopoeias and reported in the technical datasheets (analytical specifications) of the active ingredients and excipients. Substances that are most frequently used by pharmacists in galenic preparations (magistral, officinal, herbal, veterinary), set up in both territorial and hospital pharmacies, will be particularly considered. For this reason, the course also aims to provide an overview of EP assays for the quality control of herbal drugs and their phytoderivatives (extracts and essential oils) and for the chemical and instrumental control of the active ingredients they contain. Finally, the course aims to provide the analytical rationale for the dispensing of first- and second-level pharmacy services enabling the understanding of the analytical methodologies underlying some tests that can be performed in the pharmacy by instrumental or colorimetric means and thus exploit different principles. In detail, the main analytical approaches will be considered, which may be based on colorimetric reactions or different instrumental methodologies, both requiring the graduate's ability to handle and analyse the data.
The Laboratory of Analytical Methodologies (individual and obligatory experimental training) provides students with the ability to interpret and apply the assays provided in EP for the analysis of active ingredients and excipients used in galenic preparations. This goal is achieved through the application of the chemical and instrumental methodologies reported in the data sheets, fostering the development of fundamental skills for a pharmacy graduate. Specific colorimetric reactions that serve as the basis for determination of salivary/hematic/urinary components will also be considered.

Upon completion of the Analytical Methodologies for Pharmacy course, students will have acquired a thorough understanding of the principles and analytical approaches used for the structural elucidation and purity determination of active ingredients (both natural or synthetic) and excipients used in galenic preparations. The students will also be able to critically evaluate their data sheets, and assess their compliance with the European Pharmacopoeia. They will gain a long-term knowledge of how analytical properties can ensure the quality of drugs, medicines and new pharmaceutically active molecules.
The Analytical Methodologies laboratory aims to provide students with the ability to interpret and apply the specific assays listed in the Pharmacopoeia for active ingredients and excipients widely employed in galenic preparations (magistral, officinal, herbal, veterinary), in accordance with the indications reported in the respective data sheets. The ability to apply the chemical and instrumental methodologies reported in the data sheets is an indispensable skill for the professional training of a Pharmacy graduate.