A processing method enabling the use of peak height for accurate and precise proton NMR quantitation

Abstract

In NMR, peak area quantitation is the most common method used because the area under a peak or peak group is proportional to the number of nuclei at those frequencies. Peak height quantitation has not enjoyed as much utility because of poor precision and linearity as a result of inconsistent shapes and peak widths (measured at half height). By using a post-acquisition processing method employing a Gaussian or line-broadening (exponential decay) apodization (i.e. weighting function) to normalize the shape and width of the internal standard (ISTD) peak, the heights of an analyte calibration spectrum can be compared to the analyte peaks in a sample spectrum resulting in accurate and precise quantitative results. Peak height results compared favorably with 'clean' peak area results for several hundred illicit samples of methamphetamine HCl, cocaine HCl, and heroin HCl, of varying composition and purity. Using peak height and peak area results together can enhance the confidence in the reported purity value; a major advantage in high throughput, automated quantitative analyses.