MS in QC lab for product release testing

[jcg20000]

I am curious of the usage of mass spec in a QC lab. Are you aware of a LC/MS or GC/MS method that is used in QC lab for product release testing?

[James_Ball]

I think it would depend on the product.

[Consumer Products Guy]

This came up as a hypothetical question at my employer. It isn't just the cost of the unit (say GCMS), it's the cost of that maintenance and repair, downtime if production cannot continue during that, cost of a real chemist to operate such unit, etc.

So we decided against using MS as a product release tool for our OTC pharmaceuticals, instead developed and cGMP-validated our own HPLC and GC test methods.

[James_Ball]

This came up as a hypothetical question at my employer. It isn't just the cost of the unit (say GCMS), it's the cost of that maintenance and repair, downtime if production cannot continue during that, cost of a real chemist to operate such unit, etc.

So we decided against using MS as a product release tool for our OTC pharmaceuticals, instead developed and cGMP-validated our own HPLC and GC test methods.

We have used LCMSMS for one analyte in a nutraceutical because on HPLC/UV there is a co-eluting compound that would give a high bias to the results, but I can see where it may be thought of as less expensive to use something other than MS.