Posts by Rachel Kohn
Medical Ultrasonic Cleaner Performance Validation
In its “Guideline for Disinfection and Sterilization in Healthcare Facilities” the CDC notes “Ultrasonic cleaning removes soil by cavitation and implosion in which waves of acoustic energy are propagated in aqueous solutions to disrupt the bonds that hold particulate matter to surfaces.”
Sub-par performance of a medical ultrasonic cleaner could lead to trouble. That’s because a number of factors can compromise the efficiency of these cleaners, leaving contaminants that might not be revealed by visual examination. This is especially relevant when medical instruments and labware have complex, difficult-to clean configurations. OK-Sonic™ medical ultrasonic cleaner performance validation strips provide added assurance that your ultrasonic cleaner is doing its job. … Read the rest
When and How to Specify an Ultra-Low Freezer
At this posting Phase 3 clinical trials are underway for COVID-19 vaccines, some of which call for an ultra-low freezer for storage and transport. Examples described in a September Wall Street Journal article notes the unusually cold storage temperatures – as low as -80⁰C – required. Covid-19 vaccine candidates are one of many applications for ultra-low freezers. This post provides you with info on when and how to specify one of these units.
Unlike “ordinary” freezers, ultra-low freezers are not inexpensive. The investment is important when the job is to protect contents of high value and sometimes for long periods of time. More on this below.
Fortunately there are a number of ultra-low freezers on the market to ease the selection of a model that best suits your needs.
What is Meant by Ultra-Low Freezers?
Good question.
There are freezers, low-temperature freezers … Read the rest
Low-Temperature and Ultra-Low Temperature Freezers for Covid-19 Vaccines
A question posed in the September 5-6, 2020, Wall Street Journal asks “do we have enough freezers?” This relates to the unusually cold storage temperatures – as low as -80⁰C – recommended by certain producers of Covid-19 vaccine candidates in Phase 3 clinical trials.
Proper vaccine storage temperatures have always been a concern as evidenced by the CDC’s continually updating its Vaccine Storage and Handling Toolkit. The Toolkit details stringent recommendations relating to critical considerations such as staffing and training for safe handling, storage and temperature monitoring, inventory management, transport, and emergency vaccine and storage handling.
Earlier, MarketWatch identified Moderna, BioNTech and Pfizer as examples of Covid-19 candidates requiring low temperatures (-20⁰C Moderna) and -70⁰C (BioNTech and Pfizer). Other candidates are J&J Janssen and AstraZenca at between 0⁰ and -10⁰C. In total, some 9 firms have advanced to Phase 3 trials as reported in a Wall Street Journal September … Read the rest
CDC Refrigeration Guidelines for Submitting COVID-19 Specimens for Testing
While the search for a Coronavirus vaccine proceeds at full throttle a crucial issue is proper collection, labeling, storage and shipping of COVID-19 specimens to CDC laboratories for testing. Among procedures spelled out in the CDC’s Interim Guidelines is that coronavirus specimen shipments must be stored at 2-8⁰C and shipped overnight on icepack for testing within 72 hours. If a delay in shipping is expected, specimens must be stored at -70⁰C or lower. These agree with a companion guideline for post-mortem testing.
Temperature Guidelines for COVID-19 Test Kits
Because there are so many sites collecting specimens there is a national shortage of reagents for the tests. Test kits are available for real-time PCR and in vitro diagnostic procedures. One manufacturer specifies storage temperatures from -10⁰ to -30⁰C down to ≤-70⁰C depending on the components of the kits.
To meet these storage requirements you should be familiar with
- Scientific Refrigerators
- Scientific Freezers
How a HPLC Digital Flow Meter Works
Before explaining how a HPLC digital flow meter works here’s an explanation of what digital flow meters do:
Digital flowmeters performing high performance liquid chromatography are used to measure the accuracy of HPLC pumping systems in order to meet FDA and other regulations regarding installation qualification (IQ), operational qualification (OQ) and performance qualification (PQ) of equipment used in the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industries as well as other analytical labs.
The process demands accurate, reproducible column retention time as an analyte (what is being analyzed) is pumped through the HPLC system.
These precision digital flow meters are not to be likened to flow meters used on process lines measuring flow rates in, for example, thousands of gallons per minute but instead in fractions of milliliters per minute. … Read the rest
How to Specify a Compact Medical Refrigerator
Health care clinics must exercise care when selecting a compact medical refrigerator to store temperature-sensitive products such as vaccines and other pharmaceuticals. A compact medical refrigerator is a smart choice when space is at a premium, but a small size should not be at the cost of critical features that protect contents. This post provides tips on how to specify a compact medical refrigerator.
Why a Medical Refrigerator is Important
If there is temptation to buy a dormitory or residential-grade refrigerator it must be resisted. In fact, the former is definitely ruled against in the CDC’s Vaccine Storage and Handling Toolkit while the latter may be acceptable under certain conditions. We encourage you to download and review these guidelines, updated for 2020 before you decide on your medical refrigerator.
Especially important is compliance with CDC and Vaccines for Children refrigeration guidelines if your healthcare facility participates in these programs.
The “Cost”
… Read the restSpecify a Pass-Through Industrial Refrigerator
Pass through industrial refrigerators are preferred cold-storage units for applications where convenience and/or content protection is desired when transferring contents between one location and another. As the name suggests these refrigerators allow access from the front and back for stocking and removal of their contents. In this post we describe to buyers important tips on how to specify a pass-through industrial refrigerator.
But first…….
Do you Need a Pass-Through Industrial Refrigerator?
In many instances they can simplify handling and storage and enhance workflow.
For example, in a typical scenario a pass-through refrigerator is used to permit products to be stocked from the back and removed from the front. This feature supports a “first-in-first-out” inventory control system as stockers move the older product forward to minimize loss due to expiration or use-by dates.
Pass-through refrigerators can also serve as a temperature-controlled “boundary” between separate facility functions such as separating a clean … Read the rest
Brass Musical Instruments: Restored with Ultrasonic Cleaners
Brass musical instrument owners whether individuals, professional organizations such as orchestras, school, university or performance bands, want to keep the brass sparkling and shining. Maintaining brass musical instrument sparkle and shine is fast and easy with an ultrasonic cleaner and a regular music instrument cleaning program. This post describe how ultrasonic energy speeds brass cleaning to restore and maintain sparkle and shine.
Ultrasonic Brass Instrument Cleaning where Hands Can’t Reach
Anyone who experienced the time consuming task of restoring the shine to their brass musical instruments will take pleasure in the efficacy of ultrasonic cleaning vs. brushes, calcium remover, vinegar, water and other techniques found when Googling the topic.
The efficacy of an ultrasonic cleaner is due to the fact that cleaning action – called cavitation – reaches every area wetted when brass instruments are immersed in an ultrasonic cleaning solution that is temperature controlled so that it will not … Read the rest
How to Degas Liquids with Ultrasonic Energy
Degassing liquids of various viscosities is undertaken across a broad spectrum of industries and for a variety of reasons. Before describing how ultrasonic energy achieves fast, efficient degassing we provide you with a few definitions.
Degassing Defined
Degassing, as the name suggests, is removing trapped air (deaeration) or other gases from liquids. Most if not all liquids contain trapped air. You can see that by allowing a glass of water to remain on the countertop for a period of time. Bubbles will form on the walls of the glass.
A more vivid demonstration is opening a bottle of seltzer, carbonated beverage, champagne or beer. Bubbles fizz immediately after the pressure in the container is reduced. In this case the gas being removed is carbon dioxide rather than air.
But degassing is also necessary to remove trapped air from oils, adhesives and paint among other products where the air can interfere … Read the rest
How to Select an Under Counter Lab Freezer
If space is at a premium for safely storing temperature-sensitive pharmaceuticals, lab samples or costly biological specimens, an under counter lab freezer may be the answer. Laboratory freezers are more sophisticated than residential or commercial units. They have features essential to protect contents from temperature excursions. This post provides researchers with useful information to help with their selection process.
What to consider when selecting under counter lab freezers
First, let’s put the dollar sign in perspective. These units will cost more than residential or commercial units. You (and your accounting department) must compare the cost of the lab freezer to the value of its contents.Proper storage temperatures for many pharmaceuticals, specimens and biological samples are defined. Temperature excursions above or below these may result in losses that in some cases may be irreplaceable.The cost of loss due to freezer malfunction is described in the article Cost of Research Lab Freezer … Read the rest
