Determination of product shelf life and activation energy for five drugs of abuse

Abstract

Estimating the shelf life of reagents and controls is a critical step in evaluating new formulations. We describe several stability assessment techniques, giving particular attention to experimental design. Activation energy was experimentally determined for five major drugs of abuse and metabolites: morphine, 11-nor-Δ-9-tetrahydrocannabinol-9-carboxylic acid, amphetamine, phencyclidine, and benzoylecgonine. The use of activation energy in establishing shelf life is illustrated for SENTRY™ (Hycor Biomedical Inc.) Drugs of Abuse Screen Control, a liquid urine-based product.