Water activity analyser meets needs of pharma labs and production plants

Labcell, the exclusive UK distributor for Decagon Devices, is promoting the AquaLab Series 4TE water activity analyser as an accurate, quick, simple and cost-effective way in which pharmaceutical companies can gain valuable information about gels, powders, pastes and tablets.

The AquaLab Series 4TE makes accurate measurements of the water activity (also known as equivalent relative humidity (ERH)) in active ingredients, excipients and formulations. Water activity measurements are increasingly being viewed as essential when following due course and process as part of GMP because water activity has a significant bearing on product stability, as well as the handleability of materials in production and packaging equipment.

Decagon Devices’ AquaLab Series 4TE is believed to be the fastest and most accurate instrument of its type. This precise yet easy-to-use instrument enables lab-quality measurements of water activity to be made almost anywhere in the production environment. It is equally suitable for use by formulation and research and development teams as well as those working on new packaging designs.

A notable feature of the AquaLab Series 4TE is temperature equilibration, meaning that users can set the sample temperature to anything from 15 to 50˚C; the analyser then maintains that temperature throughout the test. Measurements are obtained in five minutes or less. The instrument has a measurement range of 0.030 to 1.000 aw, an accuracy of +/-0.003 aw and a repeatability of +/-0.001 aw.

Users in the pharmaceutical industry will appreciate the way in which the AquaLab Series 4TE handles data with a strong emphasis on traceability. Data is captured on the instrument and cannot easily be deleted; it can also be downloaded to a computer for archiving and more detailed analysis. Up to 8,000 data points can be stored securely on the AquaLab and the date, time and operator is logged for every measurement and calibration. Each instrument comes with a licence for Decagon’s own PC software, with the instrument and software both complying with the requirements of the FDA’s 21 CFR Part 11 rule regarding electronic records and signatures.

Labcell also supplies the AquaLab Series 4TEV, which is identical to the Series 4TE in most respects yet benefits from an additional hygroscopic polymer capacitance sensor for analysing samples containing volatiles. Users can switch between this sensor and the standard dewpoint sensor via the instrument's front panel menu. Accuracy with the volatiles sensor is +/-0.015 aw.

Labcell Ltd, www.labcell.com.