偏振光显微镜(PLM)是药物结晶度表征的一种常见但关键的方法,它已被广泛用于研究目的或药物测试,并被世界各地的许多药典推荐。迄今为止,由于常规PLM系统的相对笨重的设计,药物固体的结晶度表征仅限于实验室,虽然现场很少有人关注,便携式,和低成本的应用。在这里,为此,我们开发了一种基于智能手机的偏光显微镜,具有超小型化设计(“手持”秤)。紧凑的系统由光学透镜组成,两个偏振器,和一个定制的平台来容纳智能手机。分析性能参数,包括分辨率,干涉色的成像质量,和成像再现性进行测量。在第一种方法中,我们说明了该装置用于药物结晶度表征的适用性,并获得了与常规PLM系统相当的高质量双折射图像,我们还展示了该设备具有高度灵活性的现场表征的巨大前景。在第二种方法中,我们使用该设备作为概念的证明,用于从液晶到环境污染物或植物组织的更广泛的应用。因此,这款基于智能手机的手持式偏光显微镜在帮助药剂师进行研究和现场药物测试方面显示出巨大潜力,更不用说它在许多其他领域的广阔应用前景了。
Polarized light microscopy (PLM) is a common but critical method for pharmaceutical crystallinity characterization, which has been widely introduced for research purposes or drug testing and is recommended by many pharmacopeias around the world. To date, crystallinity characterization of pharmaceutical solids is restricted to laboratories due to the relatively bulky design of the conventional PLM system, while little attention has been paid to on-site, portable, and low-cost applications. Herein, we developed a smartphone-based polarized microscope with an ultra-miniaturization design (\"hand-held\" scale) for these purposes. The compact system consists of an optical lens, two polarizers, and a tailor-made platform to hold the smartphone. Analytical performance parameters including resolution, imaging quality of interference color, and imaging reproducibility were measured. In a first approach, we illustrated the suitability of the device for pharmaceutical crystallinity characterization and obtained high-quality birefringence images comparable to a conventional PLM system, and we also showed the great promise of the device for on-site characterization with high flexibility. In a second approach, we employed the device as a proof of concept for a wider application ranging from liquid crystal to environmental pollutants or tissues from plants. As such, this smartphone-based hand-held polarized light microscope shows great potential in helping pharmacists both for research purposes and on-site drug testing, not to mention its broad application prospects in many other fields.