Basic Principles of Drug Photostability Testing

Department of Chemistry, Indiana State University, Terre Haute, Indiana, U.S.A. 

Drug photoreactions can lead to a loss of the drug and thus a loss in efficacy, formation of toxic stable products, and formation of toxic short-lived intermediates (e.g., free radicals). There is also the potential for drug photoreactions in vivo since EMR reaches the interior of the eye and to a lesser extent into blood vessels and tissues. However, in vivo photoreactions are outside the scope of the present discussion. 

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Allen, J. M. Basic principles of drug photostability testing. Presented at the Photostability 1999 Conference, Washington, DC, 1999. 

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