Pharmaceutical Freeze-drying and Vacuum Drying for Research and Manufacturing in the .01 Torr to 400 Torr Range Vacuum Pressure is used in Pharmaceutical Manufacturing to:  Help create bulk and active ingredients for FDA approved drug products Increase the shelf-life of a drug product Sterilize medical devices  Lyophilization, also known as freeze-drying, is a process used for preserving biological material by removing the water from the sample, which involves first freezing the sample and then drying it, under a vacuum, at very low temperatures. The low pressure environment helps minimize oxidation during drying. Lyophilized samples may be stored much longer than untreated samples. The resulting precipitate is a shelf-stable powder. This powdered drug is later reconstituted at point of care for patient use.

Topics: Medical/Pharma, Researcher topics, Vacuum Regulation, Vacuum system setup, vacuum system needs, Rough Vacuum, medical, laboratory, vacuum drying, freeze drying, vacuum oven

Vacuum Instrumentation for Vacuum Drying and Sterilization of Medical Devices Sterilization of medical equipment is vitally important to render a product free from viable microorganisms (such as bacteria, fungi, and viruses).  Steam is used in the many sterilization processes. The steam is put under pressure that is higher than atmospheric pressure (> 1 bar). A sterilizer configured to run a vacuum cycle will be equipped with a vacuum system. A typical vacuum cycle will begin with a series of alternating steam and pressure injections. The use of a vacuum controller to lower the vacuum pressure this will remove air from the chamber.

Topics: Medical/Pharma, Researcher topics, Vacuum Regulation, Vacuum system setup, vacuum system needs, Rough Vacuum, medical, laboratory

Introduction: Vacuum terminology has evolved over time.  In order to describe what you are looking for, it is helpful to have a guide that describes what different terms mean so people from different industries can communicate with one another.  We'll start from the beginning and focus on vacuum measurement and control.

Topics: Researcher topics

Unexpected sensor failures, breakage and contamination happens to all of us. Hopefully you have a spare on hand when a sensor breaks in the field. You quickly switch out your vacuum tubes and proceed without hesitation. Unfortunately it's rarely that easy - there are small electrical differences between each sensor; thus, your backup sensors will produce different readings on different vacuum gauges without calibration.   Unfortunately, factory recalibration isn't always an option at the time. This should raise some logical questions with technicians; how reliable and accurate are the readings produced by backup vacuum tubes? We set out to answer this question by performing an experiment in the DigiVac shop. 

Topics: Calibration, Accuracy, Researcher topics, Contamination

When the general public thinks about distillation, they are thinking moonshine or whiskey. In an industrial context, however, fractional distillation is a process by which vapor from a heated liquid mixture is condensed as it rises through a vertical column. Vacuum is a key component of this process. There are 3 key benefits

Topics: Manufacturing, Researcher topics

Ever wondered if your field service technicians are completing and/or properly logging their pump-downs? Have other managers witnessed this occurrence? How worried should you be? Get these answers and more...

Topics: Researcher topics, Transformers

In the manufacturing industry, it is common practice to manually turn valves to achieve a ramp rate that ensures the material of interest is not sucked out.  Consistent process control is critical; if manual, this can be very difficult to do accurately

Topics: Manufacturing, Researcher topics