Role of packaging material on Pharmaceutical products.!

General Overview

1.       What is packaging?

2.       Importance of packaging

3.       Functions of packaging

4.       Material characteristics

Choosing the Appropriate Primary Pack

    1. Suitable polymer/ Blister Packs

    2. Containers & Closures

 What is packaging?

Packaging is defined as the collection of different components which surround the pharmaceutical

Product from the time of production until its use. Don't Miss this article : Best guidelines for pharma packaging using LDPE bags

Importance of packaging

Protect against all adverse external influences that can alter the properties of the product.

• Protect against biological contamination.

 • Protect against physical damage.

• Carry the correct information and identification of the product.

 • Tamper evident / Child resistance / Anti counterfeiting.

Function of Packaging

Containment

Not to leak, nor allow diffusion and permeation Strong enough to hold the contents during handling

Protection

·         Light

·         Moisture

·         Oxygen

·         Biological contamination

·         Mechanical damage

·         Counterfeiting

Material characteristics

Additional qualities required

·         It must preserve the physical properties of all dosage ƒ

·         Forms and protect them against damage or breakage. ƒ

·         It must not alter the identity of the product. ƒ

·         It must preserve the characteristics properties of the ƒ

·         Product to comply specifications. ƒ

·         It must protect product against undesirable or ƒ adulterating chemical, biological or physical entities.

Selection of packaging material

·    

•     Moisture barrier requirements
•     Light barrier requirements 
•     Gas barrier requirements 
•     Chemical properties

Choosing appropriate primary pack

Desiccants have been utilized to control the exposure of products to the ingress of moisture. Desiccants vary in their capacity and the rate that they adsorb/absorb ingressed moisture. Silica gel is very efficient at absorbing moisture at high relative humidity, but comparatively poor at lower Relative Humidity. Molecular sieve desiccants - the opposite scenario prevails.

As a consequence, more molecular sieve is required at higher relative humidity, and the greater the handling precautions that are required during packaging operations. Based on the calculated WVTR of known container components and the rate of moisture adsorbed by desiccants, the amount of desiccant that would be required to maintain a specified relative humidity over the product’s shelf-life can be determined and used. Also Read: Best guidelines for food packaging using LDPE bags.

TESTING AND STABILITY

1. ·         Release of chemicals from components of packaging material
2. ·         Release of visible and /or sub-visible particles 
3. ·         Adsorption or absorption of pharmaceutical components by packaging material 
4. ·         Chemical reaction between pharmaceutical productand packaging material 
5. ·         Degradation of packaging component in contact with pharmaceutical products 
6. ·         Influence of manufacturing process on the container

TESTING AND STABILITY

• Vary according to the type of material used 
• Visual inspection 
• Identification test 
•  Dimensional test 
•  Physical tests 
• Chemical tests 
• Microbiological tests