Today, ampoules, penicillin bottles and many other small volume packaging containers have been widely used in medical industry. Such packages are usually filled with nitrogen or evacuated to slow down the oxidization effect of medicines by minimizing the content of oxygen inside the package.
Due to the technical limitations of evacuation or nitrogen filling process, barrier property difference of various packaging materials as well as the seal integrity of the package, the content of oxygen inside the package will gradually change throughout its storing period. Therefore, it is necessary to monitor the residual oxygen inside the package time to time.
Currently, the residual oxygen test of small volume package is performed with headspace gas analysis method. The reference standard is GB/T 6285-2003: Determination of trace oxygen in gases-Electrochemical method. The oxygen inside the package is tested with a headspace gas analyzer equipped with oxygen sensor. However, this method requires a minimum quantity of 5mL for the sampling volume of test gas at standard atmospheric pressure so more than one packages are needed to meet such requirement. Then problem comes, how to avoid errors in continuous sampling operations with multiple packages?
Labthink developed one underwater sampling device to solve the problem mentioned above.
This device consists of a hollow ring base with three supports and matched conical funnel. The gas collecting pipe on the top of the device is sealed with silicone closure, which can stop gas releasing during sample collection process.
Take residual oxygen test of penicillin bottle as an example. Set the device into the water container and get rid of all the tiny bubbles on the device surface and inside the gas collection pipe so that the influence of residual gas in the water on the testing accuracy can be minimized. Open the cap of the penicillin bottle at the bottom of the device so the gas inside the bottle will be collected to the gas collection pipe on the top of the funnel. In this way, gas inside multiple small volume packages can be collected continuously and precisely. And then puncture the detection probe of Labthink’s CLASSIC 650 Headspace Gas Analyzer through the silicone closure to draw test gas for further analysis and finally calculate the oxygen content in the collected test gas.
Labthink’s underwater sampling device helps solve the sampling problem with small volume packaging bottles in residual oxygen testing process. This device is easy to operate and helps improve the testing efficiency. It is one very useful testing device for the medical companies that use penicillin bottles and ampoules as their main packaging form.
Labthink Instruments Co., Ltd, is always dedicated to providing customers with packaging testing solutions and helping the manufacturers fulfill the goals of quality and safety assurance, through improvement of packaging testing techniques and development of high-end packaging testing instruments.