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Before healthcare products keep people safe, it’s necessary to keep the products themselves safe!
Whether oral solid dosage pharmaceuticals, drug delivery systems or diagnostic and medical devices, many healthcare products are susceptible to degradation and stability issues.
Airnov is the specialist of controlled atmosphere with deep knowledge in moisture, oxygen and odors management inside healthcare packaging. Contact us for more details on which solution is the most suitable for your specific needs.
Tablets are the most widely used form of oral dosage in the world, and their preservation is of the utmost importance. Vulnerable to damage and degradation, the protection of tablets has not always been adequate. Of particular concern for tablets is moisture, oxygen & odor protection. In order to maintain potency, stability, and shelf life, Airnov offers a variety of moisture and oxygen absorbing products tailored for specific needs.
Tablets are produced by compressing or molding active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) mixed with excipients to aid in the forming process. After forming, the pills are typically package in blister or sealed into a bottle for distribution around the world. Throughout their journey, their potency, safety, and shelf-life must be preserved, with the biggest risk being moisture degradation.
The air around us always contains moisture. This water vapor can permeate plastic films and bottles, and attacking the tablets inside. While most APIs can handle some moisture exposure, over time, more and more water enters the bottle. This degradation by the moisture ingress which reduces the efficacy of the drug and can produce toxic products. Physically, tablets may start to crumble, swell, and/or turn color as the water is absorbed and reacts with the tablet ingredients. In order to prevent this from happening, desiccants are used to adsorb the moisture before the tablets.
Airnov’s moisture control products are specially designed to have much higher affinities for water than the pharmaceuticals they protect. Silica gel and molecular sieve each provide unique properties that allow Airnov to tailor our moisture absorbing products to fit our customer’s specific needs. When placed inside a container, these desiccant packets, desiccant canisters, and other formats quickly catch moisture from the air and are designed work over the shelf-life of the product to maintain a safe environment in the bottle, providing peace of mind that the pharmaceutical tablets will be ready to do their job when needed.
Our desiccant canisters and desiccant capsules offer excellent advantages to those looking to keep the highest possible standards in every aspect of their business with a rigid body designed for high-speed production processes. For customers seeking a more flexible product, Airnov’s line of non-woven desiccant packets and desiccant sachets provide high-quality moisture protection in a broad range of shapes and sizes. Others prefer desiccant washers and inserts – depending on the unique needs of their respective products. Airnov offers you full freedom of choice.
While most APIs are susceptible to moisture degradation, some specialized pharmaceuticals are also highly sensitive to oxygen. Oxygen is the second most common gas in our atmosphere. Without it, life as we know it would not exist. However, oxygen is also highly reactive with some substances, including molecules found in many pharmaceutical tablets. Oxidation causes tablets to turn color as the oxygen reacts with the API molecules. As the reactions continue, the drug becomes less effective and can produce toxic by-products, much in the same way moisture can. To protect tablets from oxidation, Airnov provides oxygen scavenger materials and oxygen barrier bottles.
PharmaKeep® oxygen scavengers use a specially designed polymer to scrub oxygen out of the bottle headspace, protecting the tablets from oxidation. There are several oxygen scavengers on the market, but most of these require a certain level of moisture in order to pull oxygen out of the air before it can harm the tablet. What’s unique about our system is that it functions even when the relative humidity inside the bottle is 0%.
While moisture control and oxygen protection products aim to protect the tablet from degradation and keep ineffective medication out of the end user’s body, odor control products are designed to keep unpleasant smells out of their nose. Many APIs today are complex molecules designed to treat a huge array of diseases. Most tablets, being made of compressed API and excipient, don’t have a coating, allowing any odors from these molecules to waft where they please. Fishy or sulfur smells can upset even the sturdiest of stomachs.
Airnov’s odor control packets, canisters, and capsules use activated activated carbon to remove these odors. The activated carbon acts as an air filter, adsorbing and trapping the odorous molecules in its structure in much the same way desiccants adsorb and trap moisture. When pharmaceuticals require both moisture protection and odor control, Airnov’s line of 2in1 products combine silica gel and activated carbon into one unit, protecting the tablets from harm and the user from unwanted smells.
As we have already mentioned, getting wet is perhaps the biggest enemy of any tablet. A desiccant container is often the standard solution for the problem, but the story does not end there. There are more than a few different products of this type, each offering an array of advantages and an ability to make your problem disappear.
Desiccant packets are the most popular form we produce. The packets (or sachets) come in the widest variety of shapes and sizes and can be made to fit any container. Airnov offers desiccant packets from sizes starting at ¼ gram all the way up to 10 grams, with desiccant fills including silica gel and molecular sieve. Odor control packets use activated carbon while the 2in1 packets utilize a combination of activated carbon and silica gel. They are available as pre-cut or reel-wound Continu-Strip® with or without a hole punch.
Desiccant canisters offer an excellent alternative for high-volume production. Canisters are injection molded from high density polyethylene (HDPE) to create a rigid body capable of being used in high-speed insertion equipment. The system has been upgraded recently, introducing the laser-marked canister to the current labeled and printed lines. The laser-marked canister uses laser light to mark the canister, providing the customer with a product free of inks, adhesives, varnishes, and paper labels
Desiccant capsules contain excellent humidity-sensitive ingredients. Relying on different substances – from silica gel to molecular sieve, as well as more specialized solutions such as PharmaKeep and EQius – they are a type of desiccant container that can be customized to help create a safe and sterile environment. Three types of the capsule are available – cylindrical (which are dropped into pharmaceutical packaging), snapped (commonly integrated into closures), and flat capsules (ideal for fish-bone blister packaging).
Desiccant washers and inserts, snuggly fitted into the closure, they can be integrated into the system without any risk of dislocation. A wide range of sizes and a tightness guarantee make them extremely versatile.
Since its inception as an integral part of Airsec in 1952, our company has provided clients from across the globe with reliable, trustworthy, efficient service. The products from our line are a testament to our commitment to providing only the best for our clients. We understand the challenges faced and use agility, experience, performance, and respect to create a perfect environment for progress. We are proud of our ability to adapt to change and face the future with a bright and assertive attitude. Through constant striving for innovation in packaging and protecting pharmaceutical products, medical devices, we aim for a level of safety rarely surpassed by our competitors.
Our Business Continuity Planning (BCP) enables us to utilize multi-lane production equipment at multiple sites, making sure that each order – no matter how large – is delivered at the right time. A fully transverse approach is perhaps our biggest advantage. We offer products in all ranges, being able to meet any demand. The team has a sharp eye for innovation and is committed to delivering only stellar results.
We at Airnov are always open to new ideas, propositions, and business inquiries. If you have any questions, would like a quote for your next project, or simply wish to get more information on our extensive range of products – do not hesitate to contact us. We will do everything to take your ideas to the next level and work together to create the best solution to fit your needs.
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