Equipment and Processing Report-01-18-2012

Understanding equipment design and product-contact surfaces enables strong cleaning action.

PharmTech's monthly newsletter, Equipment and Processing Report, reviews the Editor's Picks for the January 2012 edition from ACS Valves and Terra Universal.

The pharmaceutical industry has a history of developing innovative medicines and novel drug-delivery systems, but not all of its manufacturing processes use cutting-edge technologies. Demands to increase productivity in fill–finish lines are fueling the arguments of proponents of robotic automation to expedite manufacturing.

I work in a quality control laboratory and use a pH meter with a single-junction reference probe to test samples taken from various pharmaceutical (drug) production lines. The probe I use has a six-month warranty. It slowly stops working after just a couple weeks. I am replacing it once a month. We make sure to store it correctly according to the manufacturer's specifications and even use probe cleaner at the end of each shift to ensure that it stays clean. What can I do to increase the lifespan to at least cover the warranty period?