What is Lyophilization?
Lyophilization, or freeze drying, is a common technique used in the pharmaceutical and food industries to vacuum freeze samples for long-term, ambient storage.
How Does a Lyophilizer Freeze Dryer Work?
Freeze-drying equipment uses sublimation to remove water, or common solvents such as methanol or acetonitrile, from a pre-frozen product. Sublimation occurs when a frozen aqueous sample moves directly from a solid to a gaseous state, without passing through the liquid phase.
Advantages of Lyophilization
By avoiding the liquid phase, the process of sublimation ensures the yield of a stable product that can be stored outside of a freezer and reconstituted for processing years into the future.
Continue: Advantages of Lyophilization for Long-Term Sample Storage
Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Lyophilizer Applications Include:
Manufacturing Active Pharmaceutical Product Ingredients (APIs)
Increase shelf life of pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and lab samples
Parenteral formulations and injections
Increase stability of therapeutic proteins (monoclonal antibodies)
Freeze drying for long term storage of dry powder with live microorganisms (probiotics / bacteria)
A - Lyophilizer Collector Coil Temperature
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The lyophilizer collector coil acts as a cold trap to collect moisture vapor eluting from the frozen product. To ensure the effective capture of sample vapor during sublimation, the collection coil must maintain a temperature of 15 – 20 degrees colder than the sample’s freezing point.
Aqueous Only
Freeze dry systems for aqueous samples have a working temperature of -50°C. Benchtop and console Lyophilizers are available in a range of capacities.
Low Eutectic Point
Freeze dry systems for low eutectic point samples have a working temperature of -86°C. Benchtop and console Lyophilizers are available in a range of capacities.
