Harro Höfliger
Even more analysis possibilities thanks to new laboratory
Dr Elke Sternberger-Rützel, head of pharma services: "Two laboratories with different focal points offer even more analysis possibilities. In the new laboratory we are completely specialised in powders. In our previous laboratory, everything revolves around liquids and instrumental analysis from now on." With the laboratories, Harro Höfliger supports its customers early on in product development – for example, in galenics and the development of individual dosing processes.
More possibilities through additional equipment
In the course of the conversion work, both laboratories received additional equipment. Dr Elke Sternberger-Rützel continues: "In our powder laboratory, for example, there is now a 3D scanning microscope that compiles different images as a spatial picture. This allows us to estimate the particle structure of powders at an early stage and draw initial conclusions about their machinability." Other systems can be used to measure ultra-fine particles, for example, which have a major influence on how a product can be processed later. The lab is also getting a second New Generation Impactor (NGI), a kind of aerodynamic flow model of the lungs.
Physico-chemical analyses
Liquids play a role in numerous products manufactured on Harro Höfliger equipment. These include soft mist inhalers and oral dissolvable films (ODFs), but also detergent pods. "We have converted our previous laboratory to enable numerous physico-chemical analyses," explains Dr Sternberger-Rützel. "There, for example, we determine viscosities of liquids – an important prerequisite for well-functioning dosing processes."New, for example, is a particle measuring device that can be used to characterise nano- and microparticles in liquids. In addition, the laboratory contains, among other things, two devices for high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC). These can be used to check whether and to what extent active ingredient particles accumulate on machine surfaces – this is how the Pharma Services team ensures that there is no uncontrolled loss of active ingredients during filling processes, for example. Another component is the so-called Laser Defractor. This allows the spray patterns of soft mist inhalers to be analysed. Additional equipment is already being planned.
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