In the Spotlight: Pharmaceutical Science & Technology Innovations

Kynar Flex (Arkema Inc.)

Fluoropolymer Improves High-Purity Tubing

Arkema Inc. (Philadelphia, PA, www.kynar.com) has launched the "Kynar Flex" fluoropolymer for use in flexible tubing applications.

Kynar Flex (Arkema Inc.)

The Kynar Flex material is made with pure fluoropolymer without any stabilizers or pigments, thus making it particularly suitable for high-purity tubing systems. "Kynar Flex works well for applications such as water-for-injection because the substance doesn't add impurities to the water," explains David A. Seiler, Arkema's business manager of fluoropolmers.

A key advantage of systems made with the resin, says Seiler, is that they offer significant cost and durability advantages over the traditional metal, glass, or plastic tubing typically installed in laboratories and research facilities. "Kynar Flex is a very cost-effective, pure material and is about 60% the cost of PTFE," says Seiler.

The substance also is flame retardant and has a longer life span than metal or glass piping materials. Tubing systems made with the material can withstand temperatures as high as 125 °C, depending on the resin's grade.

Model 3785 (TSI Inc.)

First Water-Based Particle Counter Comes to Market

The "Model 3785" water-based condensation particle counter from TSI Inc. (Shoreview, MN, www.tsi.com) detects airborne particles as small as 5 nm in diameter.

Model 3785 (TSI Inc.)

Traditional particle counters use alcohols, but the Model 3785 counter uses water, which is "readily available, has no odor, and is easy to work with," says Brian Osmondson, product manager at TSI Inc. "You also don't have to worry about the flammability issues that are common with alcohol-based systems."

When using the Model 3785 counter, a sample is drawn through a cooled saturator and then into a heated condenser, where water vapor diffuses into the sample stream. Once condensation begins, particles quickly grow into larger water droplets and pass through an optical detector where they are counted. The instrument can be used for standing or scanning mobility particle sizing over a wide concentration range of 0–10⁷ particles/cm³ at aerosol-sample flow rates of 1.0 L/min.

Models are supplied with software for data collection, management, and exportation with several display options.

NERBU (New England Machinery, Inc.)

Adjustable, Beltless Unscrambler Offers Three Air Rinsers

New England Machinery, Inc.'s (NEM, Bradenton, FL, www.neminc.com) "NERBU" rotary beltless unscrambler offers various ionized air rinsers for container cleaning.

Whereas most continuous motion unscramblers only use passive air rinsers (in which stationary air jets clean the inside of bottles), the NEM model also offers evasive and invasive rinsers to clean bottles while they are moving. With these techniques, nozzles travel with the bottles so that ionized air can be shot into bottle from outside or inside the container. A platform is applied to the bottle's lip to vacuum debris from the bottle.

NERBU (New England Machinery, Inc.)

In addition, the unit requires no change parts for bottle size adjustments. "That's important because the customer doesn't have to worry about losing, damaging, or storing parts," explains John Nieves, sales and marketing manager at NEM. Operational speeds of more than 240 cpm can be achieved.