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Isolators For Industrial Application

The isolator is a device design to create a physical barrier between the operator and the product. It plays an important role in the chemical or Pharma Industry as it helps to keep you Chemicals from reacting with each other. There are some Chemicals or inert gas which if react with the product can alter the efficiency of the chemicals. Therefore the isolators play a role here. There are various types of isolators being used in pharmaceutical companies known as Pharmaceutical Isolators that is discussed in the latter part of the article.

Types of isolators used in Pharmaceutical Industry

Containment Isolators

The containment isolators have been designed to create a physical barrier between the product and the operators so as to create a controlled environment having negatively pressurized conditions with reduced oxygen. This condition has been achieved using inert gas. A typical containment isolators are used for low level cytotoxic or products that are less hazardous. They are designed with inbuilt capabilities and integrate with new and existing equipment.

Aseptic Isolators

Also known as a laminar flow glovebox isolator, this type of containment isolators helps technicians in the safe handling of materials during the compounding and material transfer because of the presence of the complete barrier in between. A series of HEPA filters keep a tab on contaminated air from getting recirculated back into the lab.

The aseptic isolators can be used for non-hazardous and hazardous materials and provide a clean and safe atmosphere. A compounding aseptic containment isolator is additively used while working with hazardous material to create a negative pressure controlled environment while handling non hazardous material, a compounding aseptic isolator is used in order to create a positive pressure inside.

Bio isolators

Biological isolator or safety cabinets are commonly used in pathology labs or research labs where it is needed to work with pathogenic microorganisms, human or animal tissue, DNA isolation techniques, etc. These cabinets come with laminar airflow filters to protect the lab workers from getting exposed to such degrees of biohazards. Depending upon the degree of hazard, these isolators have been categorized into three classes I, II and III. Class III is considered to be the safest of all as it can work at the level of microscopic organisms.

The relevance of Isolators in Pharmaceuticals Companies

Isolators are becoming relevant day by day in pharma companies in product quality enhancement, reduction in overall costs, etc. These types of equipment are also required as during pharma product manufacturing, there are some steps which require aseptic conditions or separate work environment. This condition is addressed by isolators by not only regulating the conditions inside the container but also separates some ingredients from mixing together and achieve the desired results.

There is an important process in the manufacturing process that is the sterility test which requires a condition where no single contaminant particles can enter and alter the results. Besides the airlock system, a small amount of Hydrogen peroxide is also added to ensure the aseptic condition. These reasons thus explains the significance of isolators in pharma sector.