Stable isotopic identification and method for identifying products by isotopic concentration

Abstract

A stable isotopic identification comprising a mathematical or numerical array of concentrations of isotopes found in a batched product, said mathematical or numerical array being presented in a machine readable form and comparable to analytical results whereby the product can be distinguished from other similar products, said machine readable form also being indexed through stored product information. The stored product information may be displayed when desired. By the stable isotopic identification of the invention, a product may be securely traced through manufacturing of a product, marketing of a product and the use of a product.

Description

THE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] This application is a divisional application of application Ser. No. 09 / 349,380, filed on Jul. 9, 1999. [0002] The present invention relates to a stable isotopic identification and method for identifying products using naturally occurring isotopic concentrations or isotopic ratios in products, especially in the pharmaceutical industry, and more particularly to an identification and a method utilizing such isotopic concentrations or ratios in a machine readable form for identifying products and tracking products through manufacturing, marketing and use of a product, and readily indexing product information to the product. [0003] The stable isotopic composition of matter has been recognized since about 1945 as a criterion for differentiating one material from another with the same elemental composition. In the field of geochemical oil exploration and prospecting, measurement of the isotopic compositions of large numbers of individual organic comp...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0010] It is also an object of the invention to provide a new and improved stable isotopic identification, and a method for identifying batched products utilizing the same which is fully operational utilizing naturally occurring variations in isotopic abundance, thus eliminating costly taggants.

[0012] It is also an object of the invention to provide a new and improved stable isotopic identification utilizing the intrinsic or ambient variability and the stable isotopic composition or ratios of the product (not artificially altered or “tagged”) thereby eliminating the need for relatively expensive taggants and the resultant dilution or impurity of the product, and a method utilizing such isotopic concentrations or ratios in a machine readable form for identifying batched products and tracking batched products through manufacturing, marketing and use of a product, and readily indexing product information to the product.

Problems solved by technology

Current radioactive and stable isotopic labeling apparatus and methods in the medical fields employ typically costly labeled compounds having isotope ratios much different than those found in natural abundance.

In some cases, the relative concentration of the minor isotope versus the major isotope of naturally occurring isotopic ratios is so small that monitoring the isotope ratio has been problematic.