Pharmaceutical Ovens: The Ultimate FAQ Guide

What is Pharmaceutical Oven?

Pharmaceutical ovens are high tech equipment that provides an economical and fast mode of drying materials in the pharmaceutical industry laboratories.

You can use it to dry materials such as powders, granules, and herbs among other functions.

Pharmaceutical oven

What are Pharma Oven Used For?

You can use pharmaceutical ovens for the following purposes:

· Drying

Pharmaceutical ovens offer reliable, precise, and safe heating and getting rid of excess moisture from different research materials.

· Sterilization

Pharma ovens produce substantial amount of heat which is capable of eliminating and killing transmissible agents.

It gets rid of transmissible agents include fungi, prions, bacteria and viruses from different pharmaceutical materials.

· Curing

Pharma ovens assist in creating high strength bonds between monomers in different materials.

Apart from that, you can use it to synthetically grow different materials under very high temperatures.

· Tempering

You can use it to remove brittleness in hardened pharmaceutical products thus getting rid of the internal strain within pharmaceutical products.

The process involves heating the pharmaceutical products to different heat levels through convection before cooling it.

· Testing

You can use the pharmaceutical oven to test different pharmaceutical products through the application of different heat levels.

· Aging

This is a time temperature dependent change where the pharma oven leads to a change in properties of different pharma products.

It comes as a result of precipitation from pharmaceutical solid solutions of different compounds.

· Burn-in Test

You can run the pharmaceutical oven for an extended period so as to detect problems in pharmaceutical products.

It assists in determining the functionality of different products before releasing them to the public.

· Annealing

Pharmaceutical ovens assist in the removal of internal stress in a bid to make the pharmaceutical products tougher.

You can also use it in the recombination of DNA in the double stranded form.

· Polymerization

You can use pharma ovens to enhance reactions of monomer molecules together through chemical reactions to form polymer chains.

· Vulcanization

Pharma ovens produce enough heat that you can use in the hardening of different pharmaceutical products.

· Heat Storage and Conditioning

Pharma ovens assist in the conditioning of different pharmaceutical materials to increase the shelf life under storage.

Can You Dry all Material Using Pharmaceutical Oven?

No, you cannot dry all materials using pharmaceutical ovens.

There are different pharmaceutical products that are sensitive to heat which you cannot treat under the pharmaceutical oven.

The materials that you can dry under the pharmaceutical oven has to have the following properties:

• Have a certain amount of moisture content
• Can withstand a certain amount of heat during the drying process.

What are the Main Parts of Pharma Oven?

Pharma ovens consist of different parts that perform different functions depending on the design technology and complexity.

Some of the most significant parts of the pharma oven include:

Pharmaceutical oven tray

· Heat Source

You need a source of heat to dry the pharmaceutical products.

The source of heat in pharmaceutical ovens can come from vapor, electricity or infrared heat.

The degree of heat within the pharma oven will depend on the type of heating element.

In case you are using vapor, the oven can attain 50- 240 while infrared can attain 50 -340 degrees centigrade.

· Automatic Control System

You can control the pharmaceutical oven from one central unit which is the automatic control system.

It allows you to key in the drying parameters of the pharmaceutical oven according to the drying requirements.

Such parameters include drying temperature and time including the blower among other functions.

· Oven Trays

You will place all the pharmaceutical products that you intend to dry on the oven trays.

You may have one or more oven trays depending on the structure and design of pharma tray.

· Axial Flow Blower

It assists in pushing or blowing hot air from the heating elements into the oven chamber.

It can come in the form of a 3 blade centrifugal fan depending on the design of the pharma oven.

· Inlet and Outlet

These are the chambers that allow air to enter and exit the pharmaoven thus draining excess moisture.

· Driving mechanism or Electric Motor

It is the main source of power that drives the electrical fan that circulates air in the heating chamber.

A pharma oven can have one or two driving mechanisms depending on the type of oven.

· Safety Accessories

It has an automatic over temperature protection and shut-off system which will protect the chamber from overheating.

It protects the contents in the chamber from damage from excess heat.

· Alarm System

The alarm system will automatically go off in case of a malfunction within the machine.

At the same time, the functions of the machine will also stop automatically to prevent further damage.

· Lockable Door

The stainless steel door allows you to place and remove contents in and out of the oven.

It has locks that keep it shut during the drying process thus making it safe for use.

· Insulation Mechanism

The insulation mechanism blocks the loss of heat through conduction to the external environment from the oven.

It is the reason why the external environment remains cool despite the amount of heat within the ovens.

How many Types of Pharmaceutical Ovens are there?

You can choose a pharmaceutical oven from a wide range of pharmaceutical ovens available.

Pharmaceutical ovens differ in terms of functionality, size, design, working principle, technology and nature of applications.

The main types of pharmaceutical ovens include:

 Pharma oven door

Special Purpose Ovens

You will choose this type of oven depending on the purpose and they include:

i. Vacuum ovens

Suitable for batch processing especially in processing metallic medical equipment.

It produces no gasses thus making it special for case hardening, heat treatment, and brazing among other functions.

ii. Reach-in ovens

It has uniform heating due to horizontal flow of air thus enabling the spread of heat through all the shelves.

Suitable for applications requiring above 100 air exchanges within an hour for average drying applications.

iii. Clean process ovens

The temperatures go beyond 260 degrees centigrade and suitable for medical equipment manufacturing industries.

iv. Burn-in Ovens

Suitable for the production of electronic components with a maximum temperature of 260 degrees centigrade.

The circulating air that spreads the heat in most cases is Nitrogen.

Exact Application Ovens

Special purpose ovens include;

i. Drying Application Ovens

These ovens have the capability of drying pharmaceutical products with a temperature range of 500 degrees Fahrenheit in electrical units.

Ovens that depend on steam as the source of power can reach a temperature of 194 degrees Fahrenheit.

ii. Depyrogenation and Sterilization Ovens

These special types ovens reach a maximum temperature of 536 degrees Fahrenheit but you can opt for custom designs.

Can Pharmaceutical Ovens Destroy Pathogens?

Yes, pharmaceutical ovens can destroy pathogens.

It produces enough heat that will kill and destroy the pathogen through the sterilization process.

How Does Pharma Oven Work?

The working principle of a pharmaceutical oven depends on the principle of convection.

The process goes through the following steps:

Working of pharma oven

• Step One: Preparation Stage

Place the materials that you intend to work on in the oven chamber.

Ensure that the machine is in proper working condition before programming it accordingly from the control panel.

After that, you will switch on the oven and allow it to proceed with the drying process.

• Step Two: Actual Drying Process

The element will heat the air within the heating chamber and the air blower rotates to spread the hot air.

As the hot air flows to the oven chamber, it displaces the cold air which goes back to the heating chamber.

The process continues until the chamber is warm thus causing uniform drying as air moves over and under the trays.

The temperature within each oven has fair distribution thus causing an even drying process.

As it eliminates the excess moisture, the oven maintains the relative humidity which does not affect the drying process.

• Step Three: Final processes

After the completion of the drying process, the oven will stop automatically at the right time.

This is in accordance with the control parameters that you set at the beginning of the drying process.

Allow the materials to cool after removing them from the pharma oven.

What is Hot Air Oven?

Hot air oven is an electrical device that depends on hot dry air to sterilize pharmaceutical materials.

They have thermostats within the device that assist in controlling the sterilizing temperatures.

Which Material is Pharmaceutical Oven Made Of?

Stainless steel is the main material that manufacturers use in making pharmaceutical ovens.

It may have other insulation materials such as rubber to prevent heat from leaking to the outside.

The materials have to undergo FDA approval to ensure they are sufficient and stable for a pharma oven.

Stainless steel is the better option because it is easy to clean, has high tensile strength and is readily available.

What are Sterilizing Oven?

Sterilizing ovens depend on hot air within the oven to sterilize and kill pathogens on pharmaceutical products.

They are critical machines that you can use in medical, biotechnology and other sensitive industries.

You can use it to sterilize stainless steel equipment and glass ware.

What is Oven Drying?

Oven drying is the process of eliminating excess moisture from a product through evaporation.

Drying ovens use the principle of convection heating where the oven heats the object through air currents.

What is Vacuum Drying Oven?

Vacuum drying oven is a machine that you can use in delicate drying processes.

The delicate processes include removing flammable products from different products and drying of tiny parts.

It works in a low pressure environment which reduces oxidation during the drying process.

Standard vacuum ovens can operate ate temperatures ranging between 200 to 250 degrees centigrade.

How do Sterilization and Depyrogenation Oven Compare?

Sterilization ovens depends on the high temperature within the ovens to effectively kill pathogens on the pharmaceutical products.

In most cases, you will use a sterilization oven to destroy pathogens on solid pharmaceutical products.

Depyrogenation, on the other hand, refers to the extraction of pyrogens from pharmaceutical solutions such as injectable pharmaceuticals.

A depyrogenation oven uses heat to destroy pyrogens in pharmaceutical solutions.

Most pyrogens are thermally stable but an efficient depyrogenation oven sufficiently heats and destroys pyrogens under consistent high temperatures.

Both processes depend on hot dry air to remove excess moisture from the products but the type of product varies.

Why are SaintyCo Pharma Ovens Trusted?

 Hot air circulation oven

SaintyCo pharma ovens are trusted because of the following reasons:

• SaintyCo uses the highest quality of materials in making the pharma ovens thus guaranteeing durability and efficiency.
• It adheres to the set quality standards thus providing their customers with the best pharma ovens in the market.
• Pharma ovens from SaintyCo are energy efficient and saves a lot of energy thus reducing wastage.
• Pharma ovens from SaintyCo have superior performance as they have uniform distribution of hot air for drying purposes.
• You will spend very little amounts of money on maintenance of the machines and it also guarantees hygiene and safety.
• SaintyCo pharma ovens have modular designs allowing you to easily disassemble and assemble.
• The machines are versatile and can process different types of products to achieve easy, effective and uniform drying.
• The precision and accuracy of SaintyCo pharma ovens will guarantee you a reproducible process.

What are the Recommended Quality Standards for Pharmaceutical Ovens?

There are specific quality standards for the pharma ovens that you need to look at.

These standards will ensure consistency, safety, optimal performance, and equipment reliability.

The recommended quality standards for pharmaceutical ovens are CE, cGMP, ISO certification and BS 2648 among others.

How Does Pharma Oven Compare to Fluid Bed Dryer?

Fluid bed dryers depend on the principle of fluidization to produce an effective granulation and drying system.

During the drying process, fluid bed dryers use hot air flowing at very high speeds to remove excess moisture.

The hot air does not remain within the machine but goes out through the outlet.

The drying process takes place as the products that you need to dry suspend in the air.

On the other hand, pharma ovens get rid of excess moisture from the materials without suspending the materials in the air.

It also uses hot air to dry the materials even though it recycles the hot air and the air travels at a lower velocity.

Which Parameters Affect Efficiency of Pharma Ovens?

There are significant factors that you need to consider as they will determine the efficiency of the pharma ovens.

Whenever you are looking for a good pharma oven, you need to look at the following parameters:

• Safety

Safety is paramount and you should go for a safety mechanism that is advanced with auto shut-off systems and alarms.

The system should also protect you from over temperature and excess heating.

• Mode of Operation

You should consider having an automatic operating system with a user friendly interface that you can easily maneuver.

It should have data logging capabilities or process parameter recorders especially if you will be using it in a laboratory.

• Operation Efficiency

A pharma oven that has high levels of drying, precision, accuracy and consistency is the best choice for you.

To have an effective and efficient operation efficiency you need to consider the following factors:

i. A machine with the capability of monitoring temperature precisely

ii. A wide temperature heating range

iii. An efficient heating mechanism

iv. An electric motor that does not consume a lot of energy during the drying process.

v. A gasket that is FDA approved and a structure of stainless steel

vi. An oven that is easy to maintain and clean

vii. Time it takes for a particular type of oven to dry the products effectively.

Apart from that, you need to consider the type of product that you intend to dry.

The type of product will also affect the choice of machine in the following ways:

• Sensitivity of Products

Your choice of drying oven will depend on the sensitivity of the material you intend to dry.

For instance, very sensitive materials will require you to use a vacuum drying oven.

• Moisture Content

The level of moisture within a product determines the type of oven you will use.

Products with high moisture levels will require an oven with wide temperature ranges.

This will also affect the time it takes to dry the products effectively.

• Type of Material

Products have different materials which require different drying temperature ranges.

Consider a pharma oven that can handle a wide range of materials under different temperature ranges.

What is the Heat Source for Pharma Oven?

Pharma ovens have different heat sources depending on the type and design of the pharma oven.

The main heat sources include electricity, vapor, or infrared heat.

Why Should Hot Air Oven Recycle Hot Air?

Hot air ovens recycle hot air inside the oven to enhance the conduction of heat within the oven thus increasing the efficiency.

Apart from that, hot air ovens are energy efficient and recycle hot air to save the resources of energy.

Does SaintyCo has Custom Pharmaceutical Oven?

Yes, SaintyCo has custom pharmaceutical ovens.

You can come up with a custom design that will go through an assessment with a team of design engineers.

After approval, SaintyCo will go ahead and manufacture the custom pharmaceutical oven.

How Does Pharma Oven Compare to Freeze Dryer?

A freeze dryer depends on a water removal process in the preservation of perishable materials thus extending the shelf life.

It freezes the materials and reduces the pressure while adding more heat to allow sublimation of the material.

Pharma ovens, on the other hand, depend on heat to remove the excess moisture from the pharmaceutical materials.

The process involves heating hot air and then spreading it within the oven to eliminate excess moisture.

What is the Working Temperature for Pharma Ovens?

Pharma ovens have varying working temperatures depending on the type of oven.

For instance:

You can have a special purpose oven with a maximum temperature of 500 degrees Fahrenheit for an electric unit.

The same pharma oven may have a maximum temperature of 194 degree Fahrenheit for a steam unit.

Implying that, the working temperature will depend on the source of heat and the product you intend to dry.