In the drug industry, vials are crucial components. The vials must be cleaned before use because sanitation and hygiene in these businesses are of the utmost significance. The need for Vial Washers has grown as a result of greater awareness of maintaining health and hygiene. To satisfy the demands of the medical business, the vial cleaning machines must operate quickly because the process of manufacturing medicines is done in big quantities. As a result, there is now a greater demand for automatic vial washers with various production capacities.
The vials are cleaned so that their surface is free of any traces of contaminant that can seriously compromise the integrity of the substance. Before the vial may be utilised, this initial action must be taken.
The vials are washed in the vial washing machine using nozzles. Moreover, the machine uses a brushing motion to remove dust from the vial’s outside surface. The vials were cleaned in this washing machine using air knives, which were then utilised to air-dry them after they had been through the water.
Types of Automatic Vial Washers
Rotary, linear, and batch washers are the three types of automatic vial washers.
Pharmaceutical firms that need an excessive number of vials are familiar with linear vial cleaning machines. These enormous machines are expensive to operate and normally have considerable maintenance costs.
An operator is required to fill and empty the racks in batch washers since they wash vials on a rack. According to projections, people are responsible for around 75% of the microbial contamination of laboratory equipment. Hence, using batch washers isn’t the best choice if a high level of sanitation is required.
Rotating vial washers are the industry standard for the high throughput of cleaned vials. Depending on the size of the washer, a low average production can range from 40 vials/minute for a small laboratory to 400 (2 ml) vials/minute for fast-moving automation utilised by big pharma.
Precautions for Vial Washing
The vial must be depyrogenated before being cleaned. If not, pollutants picked up while cleaning cause both animals and people to experience feverish reactions. In addition, failure to remove all bacterial toxins, such as endotoxins and exotoxins, causes a number of illnesses and disorders in the consumer.
Cleaning procedures must adhere to cGMP (Current Recommended Manufacturing Practice) laws and protective measures. Prior to anything else, the vials need to be sterilised and depyrogenated.
The vials are heated to a high temperature in these tunnels, which kills the majority of microorganisms. The vials are then put through a washing process, which also gets rid of any dirt or pathogens from the manufacturing process.
Human hand contact must be avoided because it is a major source of bacteria, viruses, and diseases. Most contamination can be avoided with an automated washing machine. Since dirt, bacteria, and other pollutants can contaminate them, the vials and washer components used in the washing process must not come into contact with the air. The most crucial setting for washing is sealed.
To achieve sterile cleaning, the cleaning process must be carefully managed. Cleaning nozzles must enter the bottles and squirt cleaning agents onto every surface of the vial before washing and drying.
In order to prevent contamination, the storage containers for washing agents must be clean. Washing and drying must be done in accordance with the cGMP’s step-by-step instructions.
Moreover, the materials used to make the cleaning components must be resistant to corrosion caused by air, water, and the chemicals in the cleaning agent. If these components corrode, the vials might contain a few metal fragments that could react with the medication and cause contamination. They ought to be made from premium stainless steel.
