---
type: "WebPage"
title: "Deformulation of materials in the laboratory"
description: "Reminder : deformulation, what are we talking about ? The deformulation, or otherwise called \"reverse engineering\", consists in determining the nature and the quantities of materials present in a material or a formulation. In short, it consists in analyzing and..."
resource: "https://filab.fr/en/our-services/our-expertise-services/laboratory-deformulation-analysis-reverse-engineering/deformulation-materials-laboratory/"
tags: ["EN", "pll_627e26aac2ad7", "Anaïs DECAUX"]
timestamp: "2025-12-31T08:44:30Z"
published: "2022-06-15T14:07:51Z"
language: "en"
author: "bwa"
---

# Deformulation of materials in the laboratory

## Reminder : deformulation, what are we talking about ?

The deformulation, or otherwise called “reverse engineering”, consists in determining the nature and the quantities of materials present in a material or a formulation. In short, it consists in analyzing and fragmenting its chemical composition. 

The process of deformulation of materials is used in various industrial contexts… 

### How does polymer deformulation work?

  ![guide pratique polymères](https://filab.fr/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/viscosite-polymeres-2.png) Service offering dedicated to polymer deformulation
[Deformulation, as applied to polymers](https://filab.fr/en/our-services/our-analysis-services/polymer-materials-analysis-laboratory/deformulation-polymers-laboratory.md), involves a detailed analysis of the composition of a plastic material to identify the nature and proportion of its constituent raw materials. Using advanced chemical analysis techniques (chromatography, spectroscopy, etc.), this approach allows for the identification of additives, fillers, stabilizers, and resins used in a polymer formulation.

This expertise is applicable to a wide range of materials and industries, including engineering plastics, polymer composites, as well as paints, varnishes, and other complex formulations. The goal is to precisely understand the structure and characteristics of polymers to improve their performance, control their quality, or develop new formulations.

 [Discover our service offerings dedicated to polymer deformulation](https://filab.fr/en/our-services/our-analysis-services/polymer-materials-analysis-laboratory/deformulation-polymers-laboratory.md)
### Which industrial sectors are affected by polymer deformulation?

The material deformulation process is used in various industrial contexts…

## INDUSTRIAL CONTEXTS

Compare your material to the properties of a competing material (double-sourcing or multi-sourcing)

Analyze and determine the composition of an unknown material

To study the conformity of a material with respect to its data sheet or MSDS

To understand an unusual phenomenon on a material

In this area, FILAB has set up deformulation services adapted to materials and solids such as powders, metal alloys, ceramics and polymers.

## FILAB: a service dedicated to the deformulation of materials

The success of a deformulation of materials lies in a good knowledge of the targeted application and the implementation of rigorous analysis methods. Thus, it allows to characterize the chemical composition of the organic and mineral fractions.

The deformulation of material implies a set of diversified and sometimes very sharp techniques as for example:

## OUR RESOURCES

Gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GCMS)

[DSC](https://filab.fr/en/our-technical-resources/laboratory-analysis-dsc-calorimetric.md)

Liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (LCMS)

Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM)

[Pyrolysis GC-MS](https://filab.fr/en/our-technical-resources/py-gc-ms-pyrolysis-gc-ms.md)

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR analysis)

[XRD](https://filab.fr/en/our-technical-resources/x-ray-crystallography-laboratory-xrd/analysis-and-characterization-of-materials-by-x-ray-diffraction-xrd-in-the-laboratory/)

[FTIR](https://filab.fr/en/our-technical-resources/laboratory-analysis-ftir-spectroscopy.md)

[TGA/TGA-FTIR](https://filab.fr/en/our-technical-resources/tga-tga-ftir-and-tga-ms-analysis-at-filab-laboratory.md)

## OUR ASSOCIATED SERVICES

Deformulation of polymers

Deformulation of cosmetic products

Deformulation of pharmaceutical products

Counterfeit analysis

All the results of a material deformulation are then combined and interpreted according to the client’s context.