INDUSTRIAL ATTACHMENT TRAINING REPORT
SCHOOL OF PURE AND APPLIED SCIENCES
DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRIAL CHEMISTRY
KISII UNIVERSITY, P.O BOX 408-40200, KISII, KENYA
NAME: KRENFORD SAMSON MULAMA
REGISTRATION NUMBER:PS17/00084/19
An industrial attachment training report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of
the Degree of Industrial Chemistry of Kisii University
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©YEAR (2022)
DECLARATION
This attachment report is my original work prepared by no other than the indicated sources and
support has not been presented elsewhere for a degree or any other reward.
Signature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Date . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. Registration number . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
SUPERVISORS
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PREFACE
Table of contents
Company background
Work experience
Conclusions & recommendations
References
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction to basic GMP practices
Learning and using of sophisticated quality control instruments and equipment such as
the FT-IR, the friability tester, the hardness tester, disintegration tester, Polari meter,
dissolution tester machine, the high performance liquid chromatography, automatic
titrator, electromagnetic sieve, analytical balance and the tap density apparatus.
Calibration of these equipment.
Preparation of specifications, worksheets, standard testing procedures and standard
operating procedures.
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Preparation and standardization of volumetric solutions, preparation of general
reagents and indicators
Drug analysis
Analysis of raw materials, packaging material, semi-finished and finished products
using analytical technique.
Company background
The company was founded In 2004 at Syokimau Mombasa road Nairobi.
Dinlas Pharma is a pharmaceutical company that deals in production of drugs like
ointments, cough syrups, analgesics, anti-inflammatory, antacids, co-trimaxozole
suspension, bronchodilators, emulsions and suspensions, anti-diabetic tablets,
antibiotics among others. These are just but a few of the mass production that are
produced in the EPZ facility.
It was founded by DR.Guru Prashant and has different stakeholders one of them being
Afrique Limited.
Below is a hierarchical structure of the organization
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CEO
COMPANY
BOARD OF PRODUCTION UNIT
HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
DIRECTORS
SALES AND AUDIT ENGINEERING COMPANY PRODUCTION
STABILITY
TEAM DEPARTMENT PHARMACIST BLOCK
QUALITY
PUBLIC RELATIONS STORAGE AND RESEARCH AND QUALITY CONTROL
ASSURANCE
TEAM WAREHOUSE DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
DEPARTMENT
MICROBIOLOGY
LABORATORY
R&D
1.Introduction to basic GMP practices
In accordance to good manufacturing practices, there rules that are put in place to ensure
products that are being produced in the company are of good standards and minimize
contamination as much as possible. They include wearing clean protective gear (lab coat, lab
slip-ons, gloves, head cap), ensuring that the analyst is clean at all times ,jewelry of any kind is
not allowed in a production facility, the analysts hair should be clean shaven or manipulated to
manageable standards, using protective gloves and masks especially when handling corrosive
chemicals, clean fingertips and palms, correct disposition of already analyzed stability samples ,
proper conductance when in the laboratory at all times, proper use of worksheet and
specifications when conducting analysis of a stability or finished product.
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2.Learning and use of quality control equipment
In a quality control laboratory there are instruments that aid in the analysis process for proper
optimization of the production process of standard products.
Most operate on spectroscopic methods of identification in qualitative and quantitative basis.
Instrumentation is wide on its own from the ultra-violet/visible spectroscopy, Infra-red, nuclear
magnetic resonance, x-ray and mass spectroscopy.
In the pharmaceutical industry quality control department is a fundamental part of the
production process. Instruments such as the friability tester, the FT-IR, the hardness tester,
disintegration tester, Polari meter, tap density, high performance liquid chromatography and
dissolution tester are used.
Friability is the percentage weight loss of powder from tablets surface due to mechanical shock
and action when transporting from one place to another. Its carried out to check the durability
of the tablet and mass lost in powder form through chipping.
The formula used to attain specification; W1-W2/W1 × 100
Where W1 is the initial weight and W2 is the final weight. The mentioned specification should
not be more than 1%.
Disintegration time is the time required for the tablets or capsules to break into fragments
under the given set specifications. This is done at the disintegration tester.
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The FT-IR is a spectroscopic method of analysis that involves the measurement of absorption of
a narrow wavelength of radiation by molecules in a solution and running a comparison to the
standard sample. Its consists of a radiation source (nerst glower made of zirconium, yttrium and
thorium) ;a monochromatic that separates polychromatic radiation into individual
wavelengths, a detector that converts light signal into electrical signal(usually a bolometer or
thermocouple). An amplifier which converts electrical signal to % transmittance as a function of
wavenumber and recorded.
A dissolution test is an invitro test that measures the rate and extent of dissolution or release of
the active drug substance from a drug usually in an aqueous medium under the SOPs. A
dissolution tester is used to do this. The samples are then withdrawn and diluted using the
specified solvent and then absorbance read at ultraviolet spectrophotometer. Using
mathematical formulae, the specification is calculated.
High performance liquid chromatography is a spectroscopic method of analysis that entails
chromatography. It entails the separation of a component in a sample based on the fact that
the rate of an individual solute molecule through a column or a thin layer of adsorbent is
directly related to the portion of that molecule between the mobile and the stationary phase.
In the pharmaceutical industry HPLC is fundamental in determining the concentrations of
individual components in a certain drug. This is done through preparation of the mobile phase
and running through a column for some time. Successive integration using the lab solutions
software obtains the dominant peaks that are characteristic of concentration of molecules in
the drug being analyzed.
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3. Calibration of quality control instruments.
Calibration is a crucial process to ensure there is minimal to no errors when analysis is being
conducted. Using the calibration manuals, tuning is done most preferably every month to aid in
acquisition of accurate results.
4.Preparation of SOPS and worksheets.
Analysis process requires specifications when it comes to determining the amount of active
drug substance presence in a particular drug so as to ensure there is no damage when one
consumes it. Preparation and dispensation of worksheets therefore is important to an analyst.
Using the British Pharmacopoeia, worksheets are formulated as they are within the standards
of health merits.
5.Preparation and standardization of volumetric solutions, general
reagents and indicators.
In the analysis process, solutions of desired concentrations can be prepared to dissolve the
active ingredient in the drug, for instance in ibuprofen the active ingredient is paracetamol. To
ensure it completely dissolves and to determine its concentration a volumetric solution of 1M
sodium hydroxide is required.
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A quality analyst also has to be well versed with preparation of solutions that involve dilution of
concentrated acids that are used in the titration process. Indicators are important in
determining the endpoint of a reaction.
6.Drug analysis
From analgesics to antibiotics, drug analysis is important to quantitatively and qualitatively
determine the concentration. Piroxicam a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug mainly used for
treatment of rheumatism, relieve painful symptoms and arthritis early painful post-operative
pain by preventing the production of certain types of chemicals is analyzed using the FT-IR. It
shows a characteristic vibrational peak for –OH and –CH3 stretching at 3526 cm-1 and 3162 cm-1.
Vibration peaks at 1654 and 1610 cm-1 are assigned to C=O and C=C stretching respectively. The
N-H amide bonding appears at 1565cm-1.
Asymmetrical bending in C-H bond appears at 1507cm-1 and C-C stretching peaks at 1443-
1437cm-1.
Indomethacin is a non-steroidal analgesic and anti-inflammatory. It treats active stages of
rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, degenerative joint disease of the hip, acute musculoskeletal
disorders, inflammation and oedema.
Analysis is carried out for the active ingredient indomethacin with tests such as specific gravity,
uniformity of dosage, dissolution, assays and disintegration time.
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Specific gravity is a test carried out to determine the amount of the active ingredient in a
particular drug and entails use of certain steps using an analytical balance.
Uniformity of dosage entails the weighing of a specified weight amount, dissolving with a
specified a reagent and reading the absorbance at the U.V and applying mathematical formulae
to attain required specifications.
Antacids (neutricid tablets) are bases that react stoichiometrically with acid. The number of
moles of acid that can be neutralized by a sample tablet of a commercial antacid is determined
by back titration. The antacid is dissolved in a known excess amount of acid. The resulting
solution acidic as the tablet does not provide enough moles of base to neutralize the acid.
The solution is titrated with base of known concentration to determine the amount of acid not
neutralized by the tablet. To find the number of moles of acid neutralized by the tablet, the
number of moles of acid neutralized in the titration is subtracted from the moles of the acid in
the initial solution.
7.Analysis of raw materials, packaging of material, semi-finished, and
finished products using analytical technique.
For any production process to begin there has to be raw materials. Some materials are placed
in stability chambers to ensure they don’t go bad. In the pharmaceutical industry, the stability
block is responsible to know the shelf life to these materials. Most times a small sample batch is
first produced and analysed to determine the composition of molecules and if the product is
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suitable for mass production. Once this is certified, then mass production is done through a
series of process validation steps.
Use of analytical technique and instruments comes in handy in these processes. Packaging
material is also analysed to ensure minimal shock in the transportation of the finished product.
SUMMARY OF TASKS
At the facility I was mainly situated at the quality control department where drug analysis from
the physicals to the tactical side. Some of the tasks included water analysis of water at the
facility that was used in the production process. Drug analysis of the semi-finished and finished
products using analytical technique and analytical instruments such as the friability tester, ultra
violet spectrophotometer, high performance liquid chromatography among others.
Conducted physical tests such as specific gravity, uniformity of weight, uniformity of dosage,
neutralizing capacity, assays on drugs like paracetamol, neutricid tablets, piroxicam, gripe
water, glucostat tablets, azithromycin tablets, co-trimaxozole suspension, ointments and
cozfit(a cough syrup).
Calibration of the analytical instruments which was done monthly except for the analytical
balance which was calibrated daily using complex statistics.
Dispensing and creation of worksheets using the British pharmacopoeia which is in accordance
with the standard health merits.
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WORK EXPERIENCE
1. Projects done
Some of the projects done include establishing shelf life of raw materials used in production
process. Conducting analysis using HPLC which required preparation of mobile phases.
2. Supervisory work
Given that the HPLC is a complex instrument, most of the teaching was done through
supervisors. The quality analysts were very crucial in the operation of the sophisticated
instrument. From the preparation of the mobile phases to running and comprehending
the lab solutions software, I can attest that they were very helpful.
Conducting analysis of various drugs at times needed inquiry from the analysts.
3. Problems faced and solutions
Some of the challenges encountered not being able to complete analysis of a finished
product that was supposed to be dispatched for selling. This at times occurred at the
dissolution tester as only two batches can be run at a time in the event that 5 batches
required analysis. This was time consuming and wastage of resources. I would
recommend purchase of another dissolution tester to solve this.
The HPLC at times could breakdown and the maintenance would take some time.
Analysis is not conducted as per scheduled.
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The training programme was all inclusive as I acquired essential analytical skills. I look
forward to applying this in my field of expertise and pioneer the bravado of science. Its
very interesting if you ask me.
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