Permeability measurement instruments help extend shelf life of pharma products

The useable shelf life of medical and pharmaceutical products is limited by the rate of decline of drug potency and sterility. Both are controlled by the speed at which contaminants can permeate through the packaging. The sterility of dressings and syringes, etc., is controlled by the same effect, though in this case the packaging needs to be permeable to water vapour and oxygen, non-permeable to bacteria.

To develop and quality control the processes and materials used in these products, Versaperm’s latest single and multi-chamber instruments are designed to measure permeability with respect to virtually any vapour, including water vapour, which is by far the world’s most common contaminant.

The equipment can characterise the permeability of a wide range of products including unitary dose blister capsules, sachets, syringes, inhalers and wound dressing packaging, etc. It can produce results quickly and has a typical accuracy to a few parts per million (ppm) or better.

The equipment can determine the vapour permeability of almost any material against any gas/vapour and, unlike conventional gravimetric measurements, which take days or even weeks, it can produce results in as little as 30 minutes for some materials. This speeds the never-ending quest for effective packaging with new marketing and technical features.

For companies that test too few samples to make the purchase of equipment viable, Versaperm offers a fast turnaround laboratory testing service.

Versaperm Ltd, www.versaperm.com.