Pharmaceutical
Oxygen concentration in blister packs- manual measurements
In pharmaceutical industry, the measurement of oxygen in packaging and monitoring its effect on product shelf life is critical.
For protection of oxygen sensitive pharmaceutics, pharmaceutical companies use nitrogen in the stage of packaging. With such method they prolong the lifetime of their products. The main problem is how to make reliable measurement in such small place without contamination of surrounding air in the sample of one blister pack. The sampling method are not reliable because high errors during sampling. The standard method using electrochemical sensor is not possible because all electrochemical sensors using some oxygen to operate and this is a cause of non-stable signal and error in the measurement. The other problem is that classical probes are big, and it is very hard to make a measurement in small places in blister packs.
Echo Instruments developed a special optical fibre oxygen measuring instrument, HandO2, with custom designed software for measuring in blister packs. The optical fibre sensor makes a micro hole in the blister pack sealed with special silicon sealing patch. With small sensor we can measure in very small places and without error caused by surrounding air.
The instrument has IQ and OQ and the software is compiled to pharmaceutical industry with automatic statistical evaluation and report output. Some of the biggest pharmaceutical companies use the Hand O2 in their daily quality control in blister packs production.
Oxygen concentration in blister packs – automatic system
BlistO2 has been designed for automatic measurement of oxygen concentration in blister packs.
The device eliminates human error during measurements and present the instrument with the highest accuracy and reproducibility of measurements in blister packs. It was special designed as assistance and control instrument for quick routine check of oxygen concentration in blister pack at the production site.
Link: Blist O2
Oxygen concentration in vials
The measurements can be made in headspace and liquid part of the vial.
Oxygen concentration in tubes
The measurements are made in the part of the tube where the “air gap” is located.
Oxygen concentration in nicotine patches/wafers
The patches and wafers are flushed with nitrogen for prolong life time of the products. There is still a small micro “air gap” in the product which needs to be analysed to determine the efficiency of MAP packaging.
Link: Hand O2