Solvent removal from pharmaceuticals

A shift towards healthier lifestyles has dramatically increased use of botanical based Nutraceuticals that are also finding their way into Pharmaceutical products. This includes functional extracts of herbs, vegetables, fruits and other plants.

The production of pharmaceuticals often involves the extraction of the active ingredient using solvent. The Centritherm® evaporator is ideal for evaporating organic solvents with the design of the unit also making it particularly suitable for processing flammable and toxic materials.

The Centritherm evaporator can be used for:

• Separation of the extract (containing the active compound/s) from the spent raw material.
• Evaporation of the water or organic solvent from the extract in order to increase the concentration of the active ingredient in order to produce a concentrated liquid extract.

The liquid extract may be used as is or further processed into a dry powder.

As is well known, active ingredients contained in many Pharmaceutical products are prone to heat denaturation. To minimise thermal degradation and consequent loss of functionality the action of the spinning cones in the Centritherm evaporator reduce the contact time between the heating surface and the product to approximately 1 second heat contact time.

Centritherm evaporators are usually operated with an evaporation temperature of 50°C and a steam temperature of 120°C. However, due to the heat sensitive nature of some compounds, these conditions may be adjusted to reduce the temperature difference and further reduce the thermal impact. For example, lower operating temperatures, from 25°C, and steam temperatures of 70-90°C are currently used for manufacture of various enzymes and protein fractions.

The minimisation of loss and / or damage to the compounds of interest is critical for the finished product. Active ingredients are generally regarded as heat sensitive and, as such, the preservation of these compounds is of paramount importance during the concentration stage as heat is applied to evaporate the solvent.

Concentrates produced by the Centritherm evaporator are of extremely high quality as the thermal impact they experience during processing is negligible.

Key benefits of the Centritherm include:

• Negligible thermal impact on the product
• Low hold-up volume – ideal for small batches
• Wide range of concentration levels achievable
• Handles viscous products
• Hygienic system suitable for pharmaceutical certification

Summary

The Centritherm evaporator is a unique system for concentration of, and solvent removal from, a range of pharmaceutical products including enzymes, proteins, vitamins, antibiotics, blood products and other chemical compounds.

Click here to find out more about the Centritherm evaporator.

Click here to find out more about the Centritherm RM short path evaporator.

Some of the products currently
being processed on the Centritherm
evaporator include: