Dataset of Raman spectroscopy responses for over-the-counter drugs in Paraguay, including acetylsalicylic acid, paracetamol, and ibuprofen.

Spectra of three over-the-counter pharmaceuticals—acetylsalicylic acid, paracetamol, and ibuprofen—were collected at the Faculty of Exact and Natural Sciences of the National University of Asuncion, with the aim of creating a dataset that serves as a reference for Raman responses from different drug manufacturers. This dataset will also provide the scientific community with data that can be used for multivariate analysis and model training.

In the data collection phase, spectra were obtained using a Raman spectroscopy system (iRaman 785s model from BWTEK) equipped with a 785 nm excitation laser. Samples were collected from diverse sales points such as pharmacies, shopping centers, and street vendors. Each spectrum was captured at 50% laser power with a measurement time of 1 second and an accumulation of 10 spectra over a range of 150 to 3200 cm-1. This method preserved the integrity of the raw data, which includes a common column for Raman shifts and additional columns for intensities and labels, detailing the activation modes in the Raman spectrum.

The data is structured into specific  xlsx files for each drug, such as "Paracetamol.xlsx", "acetylsalicylic-acid .xlsx", and "Ibuprofen .xlsx", each containing 50 spectra categorized by the type of pharmaceutical but not by brand. Brand-specific categorization is detailed in separate files like "Paracetamol-trademark .xlsx", where samples are classified using codes such as "Par-A" for different brands. This organization aids the scientific community in using clustering methods to analyze the spectral data and differentiate pharmaceutical brands based on their excipients or binders, with consistent codes across different drugs suggesting common manufacturers for various medications.