Evaluation of Different Light Conditions in the Working Environment for Handling Photosensitive and Thermolabile Compounds.

Lighting in the working environment plays a significant role on the degree of degradation of photosensitive, thermolabile compounds and on working efficiency. Light emitting diodes (LEDs) are semiconductor light emitting devices that are promising artificial light sources with easy modulation of light wave signals and are also known for low heat generation. Therefore, the effect of polychromatic LED light was tested in the working environment using the drug compounds montelukast, nifedipine, and clavulanic acid, which are known to be photosensitive or thermolabile. As a control, other lighting sources like a sodium lamp, a classic (incandescent, tungsten) lamp, and indirect sunlight were also used in this study. All the experiments were carried out with methanolic solutions at room temperature. An Acquity UPLC/MS/MS system was used for quantification of the main analytes and degradation products. Under the tested conditions, LED lighting proved to be more suitable for handling photosensitive and thermolabile compounds.