Hygienic Applications for Filling Quantities of <0.1 ml

26.04.2019

The new pharmaceutical dispenser 4VPHD6 expands the GMP design VPHD dispenser series by the dosing technology specialist ViscoTec. Developed for hygienic applications in the pharmaceutical industry, biotechnology or medical technology, the Hygienic Dispenser series now impresses in numerous applications.

Hygienic Applications for Filling Quantities of

Application example: Continuous dosing with the 4VPHD6 from ViscoTec (Image: ViscoTec Pumpen- u. Dosiertechnik GmbH)

In order to meet the demands of the market for even smaller dosing quantities, ViscoTec expanded the series by an additional dispenser. It is now possible to fill very small quantities of 0.1 ml or to dose continuously from 0.2 ml per minute. Previously, the pharmaceutical product portfolio achieved dosing volumes of 0.5 ml to 20 ml in filling applications and 0.5 ml/min to 300 ml/min for continuous dosing.

Areas of application

The new 4-stage dispenser 4VPHD6, with an additional stage, enables dosing at a back pressure of >20 bar. This may be necessary, for example, when injecting into HPLC systems (high performance liquid chromatography) or when continuously dosing an active ingredient into an extruder. The filling of certain pharmaceuticals is challenging for the dosing technology. These include cross-linked hyaluronic acid, shear-sensitive intermediates such as protein-laden solutions, solid containing, abrasive pastes and highly potent active ingredients.

ViscoTec offers the ideal solution for exactly these low to highly viscous pharmaceutical products: The pharmaceutical dispensers of the VPHD series in hygienic design meet the requirements of materials that are difficult to dose and enable shear-sensitive filling, conveying and dosing regardless of viscosity.

Filling in the dental industry

Common products in the dental industry are flowable composite filling materials made of plastic and glass. They are used for sealings, restorations or core build-ups. The viscous pastes need to be filled with absolute precision. The hygienic dispensers – and especially the new 4VPHD6 – impress in three ways: On the one hand, the new product in the portfolio allows an exact dosage of 0.15 ml, for example. A constant thread break thanks to programmable suck-back, guarantees an absolute repeatable accuracy of >99 percent. In addition, dosing and filling is carried out with high precision. There is no contamination of the packaging or the dosing needle. This creates cost savings, as there is no material waste. The third advantage derives from the technology itself: The endless piston principle is ideally suited for abrasive materials, due to absolute gentle material handling.

Continuous dosing of highly potent active ingredients

Continuous Dosing: Very small quantities are dosed almost pulsation-free in a continuous process. The 4VPHD6 can also impress in this area. In contrast to piston pumps, where continuous dosing is not possible; and peristaltic pumps, which do not dose precisely enough. Precise dosing is essential, especially for highly potent active ingredients. The active pharmaceutical ingredients are effective even in lowest concentrations – i.e. in hormone preparations or drugs for cancer. An identical amount of volume flow must be provided throughout. This is the only way to maintain the desired quality in the final product. With the additional 4VPHD6, flow rates of less than 0.2 ml/min - 500 ml/min pulsation-free can be achieved – for highly precise and reliable dosing results. The dosing accuracy of the pharmaceutical dispensers is +/-1 percent, and this precision is often even exceeded in real applications. This enables ViscoTec to meet the high requirements of the individual applications.

ViscoTec endless piston principle

As in the entire portfolio of the dosing technology specialist, the endless piston principle is also included in the now expanded Hygienic Dispenser series. A stainless steel rotor conveys the product by an eccentric movement in an elastomer stator. The so-called endless piston principle is based on the alternating opening of transport chambers whose volume does not change during conveying from the suction to the discharge side. This means that the product to be dosed is not compressed and is conveyed with very little shear. In the cross-section of the rotor-stator geometry there is always a constant product quantity, whereby a pulsation-free and highly precise conveying takes place. A freely adjustable suck-back at the end of the dosing process prevents dripping and, in the case of highly viscous products, a clean thread break is achieved.

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