Ultrasonic Cleaner for Dental Instruments
Using an ultrasonic cleaner for dental instruments is a recommend practice cited by professional organizations including the American Dental Association, the Food and Drug Administration and the CDC’sSummary of Infection Prevention Practices in Dental Settingsto remove contaminants from reusable dental instruments.
Clinics employ ultrasonic cleaners for dental instruments before sterilization to avoid heat “baking on” blood, tissue and other organic residues that cause infection problems. Dental instrument ultrasonic cleaning systems are also ideal for cleaning molds, implant hybrid prosthesis, and removing plaster and cement from bridgework.
Why Clinics Need an Ultrasonic Cleaner for Dental Instruments
Ultrasonic energy creates billions of minute vacuum bubbles in an ultrasonic cleaning bath that implode with tremendous force when they contact dental instruments.
The process, called cavitation, reaches into tiny cracks and crevices, quickly and safely blasting loose and carrying away contaminants on dental instrument surfaces. Dental instrument ultrasonic cleaners are faster, … Read the rest
Ultrasonic Bath Sample Prep in Pharmaceutical Research
Ultrasonic bath, sonicator and ultrasonic cleaner are terms describing equipment employed for sample preparation steps in pharmaceutical research projects aimed at drug design and development. Because the term “ultrasonic cleaner” is associated with parts cleaning we’ll use ultrasonic bath in this post.
Sample preparation is defined by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) as the process used to transform analytes into a measurable form.
For example, in Sample Preparation of Pharmaceutical Dosage Forms, “sonicators, also referred to as ultrasonic extraction, can be considered both particle size reduction techniques and an agitation technique. Because of its ability to disperse, mix and dissolve samples, it is widely used in the sample preparation of dosage forms.”
In this post we describe
- The purpose of sonicators
- How the process works
- Ultrasonic bath equipment
- A typical sample prep cycle
Ultrasonic Baths as Sonicators
As noted, sonication is one of the processes … Read the rest
Ultrasonic Energy Cleans Cannabis Equipment
According to Fortune Business Insights, the global cannabis market is projected to grow from $28.266 billion in 2021 to $197.74 billion in 2028 at a CAGR of 32.04% in forecast period, 2021-2028. These growth projections along with stringent regulations require the cannabis industry adopt proven methods to clean cannabis equipment. Ultrasonic energy is highly effective to remove gummy contaminants and other unwanted residues from cannabis processing glassware.
Cannabis Equipment Cleaning Challenges*
The cannabis distillation process can be called a “high-maintenance activity” because glass used in short path distillation is susceptible to being highly soiled with baked on and polymerized contaminants. The distillation process involves crude concentrates that are boiled until the desired components are distilled out, leaving behind unwanted residues.… Read the rest
Explosion Proof Ultrasonic Cleaner Options
Explosion-proof ultrasonic cleaners must be used when cleaning tasks call for the use of volatile solvents to achieve the desired results. See examples below. When low flash point flammable solvents are involved in an ultrasonic cleaning operation, a number of precautions are called for in addition to using an explosion-proof ultrasonic cleaner. This is because using these solvents creates what the NEC and NFPA term a hazardous location.
A flash point is the temperature at which a particular organic compound gives off sufficient vapor to ignite in air when given an ignition source. In view of this, selection of an ultrasonic cleaner must take into account that not only do volatile solvents evaporate, but the heat generated by the ultrasonic cleaning process accelerates solvent evaporation and vapor generation.… Read the rest
What Is A Moisture Analyzer and How Does It Work?
Moisture analyzers are precision instruments providing documentable data on moisture content, or the percentage of moisture in a product.
Examples of incorrect moisture content include soggy potato chips and sugar that lumps up in the bowl, and dried out cookies.
While these examples result from moisture in the atmosphere affecting product quality, moisture content is highly critical when manufacturing and processing a seemingly endless variety of products.
It is in the manufacturing of products that moisture content standards apply. In the sugar example cited above, moisture content according to the EU sugar policy may be a maximum of 0.06%
Moisture content standards apply to virtually any product but first you should understand that there are different types of moisture. It can be found on the surface, in pores or capillaries, and chemically bonded.… Read the rest
Ultrasonic Cleaner Frequency and Power
Selecting an ultrasonic cleaner for any cleaning and sample preparation operation requires careful consideration of many factors before making a purchasing decision. We offer useful guidelines in our post How to Pick the Best Ultrasonic Cleaner. This post focuses on two points in particular, frequency and power. Ultrasonic frequency is relatively easy to understand; understanding power is a bit more complicated. So let’s begin.
How to Specify Ultrasonic Frequency
Frequency is measured in thousands of cycles per second (kilohertz or kHz).
These frequencies are generated by transducers most commonly affixed to the bottom of the cleaning tank. Some ultrasonic units have transducers bonded to tank sides; others may have immersible transducers.
Wherever they are placed ultrasonic transducers are excited by the unit’s ultrasonic generator to produce millions of microscopic vacuum bubbles in the solution that implode on contact … Read the rest
How to Safely Use a Solvent Cleaner
As described in Chapter 3 of the Adhesives Technology Handbook*, “solvent cleaning is the process of removing soil from a surface with an organic solvent without physically or chemically altering the material being cleaned. This includes methods such as vapor degreasing, spraying, immersion, and mechanical or ultrasonic scrubbing.” This post describes how to safely use a volatile solvent cleaner with a low flash point.
Solvent Cleaner Flash Points
Solvent cleaners have different flashpoints. In chemistry, the flash point of a volatile material is the lowest temperature at which its vapors ignite if given an ignition source. In brief, the lower the flashpoint the more flammable they are. This is important when using a solvent cleaner.
The American Chemical Society publishes a table of common organic solvents that includes flash points. Examples of low flash point volatile solvents are 1-propanol at 59⁰F (15⁰C), acetone at -4⁰F (-20⁰C) and toluene … Read the rest
How to Maintain Firearms with an Ultrasonic Gun Cleaner
Investments in firearms by individuals and organizations can be substantial. This post provides a comprehensive tutorial on how to maintain firearms with an ultrasonic cleaner. It offers you guidance on when and how to use gun cleaning solvents but focuses more on why an ultrasonic gun cleaner is a wise investment when maintaining firearms.
Gun Cleaning Solvents Described
Firearm owners may be aware of many gun cleaning “solvents” available on the market, but just what is a solvent? According to an article in Science Direct, a solvent can be defined as “a liquid that has the ability to dissolve, suspend, or extract other materials, without chemical change to the material or solvent.”
When it comes to maintaining firearms, gun cleaning solvents are generally employed just after a session on the shooting range or in the field. Savvy firearm owners recognize the importance of cleaning and lubricating their weapon immediately … Read the rest
Avoid Product Damage by Ultrasonic Waves
The worldwide acceptance of ultrasonic cleaning is confirmed by a MarketandMarkets report stating that it is expected to grow from USD 1.6 billion in 2019 to USD 2.2 billion by 2024, at a CAGR of 6.5% during the forecast period. That report describes reasons driving the growth rate while this post provides important tips on avoiding product damage by ultrasonic waves.
Ultrasonic Waves Described
Ultrasonic waves is another way of describing what is called cavitation action in an ultrasonic cleaner tank. Cavitation action results from the violent implosion of millions of microscopic bubbles every second.
These implosions create a temperature of 5000˚C (>9000˚F) and a jet of plasma impacting the objects being cleaned. It is cavitation action by ultrasonic waves that quickly strips away dirt and other contaminants from parts being cleaned.
Note that this action is exceedingly fast meaning it does not damage the parts. But over time it … Read the rest
Solvent Ultrasonic Cleaning Helps Porvair Filtration Meet Customer Specs
An explosion-proof ultrasonic cleaning system satisfies customers’ preferences for flammable solvents employed during initial cleaning processes for new and reconditioned stainless-steel filters, reports Jeff Bernier, Quality Manager at Porvair Filtration Group in Caribou, ME.
“Solvent ultrasonic cleaning falls into our passivation cycle as a means of improving the corrosion resistance of our 316L stainless steel filters by removing ferrous contaminants like free iron from surfaces, and restoring them to their original corrosion specifications,” Mr. Bernier explains, adding “many of our chromatography customers expect it.”
Solvent Ultrasonic Cleaning Replaces Aqueous Solutions
… Read the rest“Our explosion-proof ultrasonic cleaner allows us to safely use flammable solvents versus previously employed non-flammable aqueous solutions for initial cleaning,” Mr. Bernier says.
“Grade A isopropanol alcohol and pharmaceutical grade acetone are the preferred solvents. However, they require specially designed ultrasonic cleaners as well as compliance with strict safety standards.
“These include the National Electric
