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Sedmak I, Može M, Kambič G, Golobič I. Heat Flux Analysis and Assessment of Drying Kinetics during Lyophilization of Fruits in a Pilot-Scale Freeze Dryer. Foods 2023; 12:3399. [PMID: 37761108 PMCID: PMC10528307 DOI: 10.3390/foods12183399] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2023] [Revised: 09/04/2023] [Accepted: 09/09/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Vacuum freeze-drying as a process for achieving high product quality has attracted increasing attention in the last decade. Particularly in the pharmaceutical field and food processing industries, lyophilization can produce high-quality products compared to samples dried by conventional methods. Despite its benefits, lyophilization is a time-consuming and costly process that requires optimization of a number of process parameters, including shelf temperature, chamber pressure, freezing rate, and process time. This paper reports on the implementation of heat flux measurements that allow noninvasive real-time determination of the endpoint of the primary drying stage as an essential parameter for the effective optimization of the overall drying time. Quantitative analysis of the drying kinetics of five fruits (kiwifruit, avocado, Asian pear, persimmon, and passion fruit) was assessed by comparing the heat flux and temperature profiles of samples during the lyophilization process. For a 24 h lyophilization cycle, average heat fluxes in the primary drying phase ranged from 250 to 570 W/m2. A significant correlation was found between the temperature and heat flux distributions at the estimated endpoint of the sublimation process and the corresponding transition into the secondary drying stage. Furthermore, good agreement was also found for the freezing phase. The use of real-time heat flux measurements proved to be a cost-effective experimental method to better understand the process variables in order to reduce the lyophilization cycle time and overall energy consumption.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivan Sedmak
- Laboratory for Thermal Technology (LTT), Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; (M.M.); (I.G.)
| | - Matic Može
- Laboratory for Thermal Technology (LTT), Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; (M.M.); (I.G.)
| | | | - Iztok Golobič
- Laboratory for Thermal Technology (LTT), Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; (M.M.); (I.G.)
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2
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Pisano R, Fissore D. New Trends in Freeze-Drying of Pharmaceutical Products. Pharmaceutics 2023; 15:1975. [PMID: 37514161 PMCID: PMC10383798 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics15071975] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2023] [Accepted: 07/17/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Freeze-drying, also known as lyophilization, is a process that facilitates the removal of water through sublimation from a frozen product (primary drying) [...].
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberto Pisano
- Dipartimento di Scienza Applicata e Tecnologia, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Torino, Italy
| | - Davide Fissore
- Dipartimento di Scienza Applicata e Tecnologia, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Torino, Italy
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3
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Mutsenko V, Anastassopoulos E, Zaragotas D, Simaioforidou A, Tarusin D, Lauterboeck L, Sydykov B, Brunotte R, Brunotte K, Rozanski C, Petrenko AY, Braslavsky I, Glasmacher B, Gryshkov O. Monitoring of freezing patterns within 3D collagen-hydroxyapatite scaffolds using infrared thermography. Cryobiology 2023:S0011-2240(23)00007-X. [PMID: 37062517 DOI: 10.1016/j.cryobiol.2023.02.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2022] [Revised: 02/02/2023] [Accepted: 02/05/2023] [Indexed: 04/18/2023]
Abstract
The importance of cryopreservation in tissue engineering is unceasingly increasing. Preparation, cryopreservation, and storage of tissue-engineered constructs (TECs) at an on-site location offer a convenient way for their clinical application and commercialization. Partial freezing initiated at high sub-zero temperatures using ice-nucleating agents (INAs) has recently been applied in organ cryopreservation. It is anticipated that this freezing technique may be efficient for the preservation of both scaffold mechanical properties and cell viability of TECs. Infrared thermography is an instrumental method to monitor INAs-mediated freezing of various biological entities. In this paper, porous collagen-hydroxyapatite (HAP) scaffolds were fabricated and characterized as model TECs, whereas infrared thermography was proposed as a method for monitoring the crystallization-related events on their partial freezing down to -25 °C. Intra- and interscaffold latent heat transmission were descriptively evaluated. Nucleation, freezing points as well as the degree of supercooling and duration of crystallization were calculated based on inspection of respective thermographic curves. Special consideration was given to the cryoprotective agent (CPA) composition (Snomax®, crude leaf extract from Hippophae rhamnoides, dimethyl sulfoxide (Me2SO) and recombinant type-III antifreeze protein (AFP)) and freezing conditions ('in air' or 'in bulk CPA'). For CPAs without ice nucleation activity, thermographic measurements demonstrated that the supercooling was significantly milder in the case of scaffolds present in a CPA solution compared to that without them. This parameter (ΔT, °C) altered with the following tendency: 10 Me2SO (2.90 ± 0.54 ('in air') vs. 7.71 ± 0.43 ('in bulk CPA', P < 0.0001)) and recombinant type-III AFP, 0.5 mg/ml (2.65 ± 0.59 ('in air') vs. 7.68 ± 0.34 ('in bulk CPA', P < 0.0001)). At the same time, in CPA solutions with ice nucleation activity the least degree of supercooling and the longest crystallization duration (Δt, min) for scaffolds frozen 'in air' were documented for crude leaf homogenate (CLH) from Hippophae rhamnoides (1.57 ± 0.37 °C and 21.86 ± 2.93 min compared to Snomax, 5 μg/ml (2.14 ± 0.33 °C and 23.09 ± 0.05), respectively). The paper offers evidence that infrared thermography provides insightful information for monitoring partial freezing events in TECs when using different freezing containers, CPAs and conditions. This may further TEC-specific cryopreservation and optimization of CPA compositions with slow-nucleating properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vitalii Mutsenko
- Institute for Multiphase Processes, Leibniz University Hannover, Garbsen, Germany; Lower Saxony Centre for Biomedical Engineering, Implant Research and Development, Hannover, Germany.
| | | | - Dimitris Zaragotas
- Department of Agricultural Engineering Technologists, TEI Thessaly, Larissa, Greece
| | | | - Dmytro Tarusin
- Institute for Problems of Cryobiology and Cryomedicine, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kharkiv, Ukraine
| | - Lothar Lauterboeck
- Institute for Multiphase Processes, Leibniz University Hannover, Garbsen, Germany; Lower Saxony Centre for Biomedical Engineering, Implant Research and Development, Hannover, Germany
| | - Bulat Sydykov
- Institute for Multiphase Processes, Leibniz University Hannover, Garbsen, Germany
| | - Ricarda Brunotte
- Institute for Multiphase Processes, Leibniz University Hannover, Garbsen, Germany
| | - Kai Brunotte
- Institute of Forming Technology and Forming Machines, Leibniz University Hannover, Garbsen, Germany
| | - Corinna Rozanski
- Institute of Building Materials Science, Leibniz University Hannover, Hannover, Germany
| | - Alexander Y Petrenko
- Institute for Problems of Cryobiology and Cryomedicine, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kharkiv, Ukraine
| | - Ido Braslavsky
- The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food, and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Birgit Glasmacher
- Institute for Multiphase Processes, Leibniz University Hannover, Garbsen, Germany; Lower Saxony Centre for Biomedical Engineering, Implant Research and Development, Hannover, Germany
| | - Oleksandr Gryshkov
- Institute for Multiphase Processes, Leibniz University Hannover, Garbsen, Germany; Lower Saxony Centre for Biomedical Engineering, Implant Research and Development, Hannover, Germany
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4
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On the Use of Temperature Measurements as a Process Analytical Technology (PAT) for the Monitoring of a Pharmaceutical Freeze-Drying Process. Pharmaceutics 2023; 15:pharmaceutics15030861. [PMID: 36986722 PMCID: PMC10058468 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics15030861] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2023] [Revised: 02/27/2023] [Accepted: 03/03/2023] [Indexed: 03/09/2023] Open
Abstract
The measurement of product temperature is one of the methods that can be adopted, especially in the pharmaceutical industry, to monitor the freeze-drying process and to obtain the values of the process parameters required by mathematical models useful for in-line (or off-line) optimization. Either a contact or a contactless device and a simple algorithm based on a mathematical model of the process can be employed to obtain a PAT tool. This work deeply investigated the use of direct temperature measurement for process monitoring to determine not only the product temperature, but also the end of primary drying and the process parameters (heat and mass transfer coefficients), as well as evaluating the degree of uncertainty of the obtained results. Experiments were carried out with thin thermocouples in a lab-scale freeze-dryer using two different model products, sucrose and PVP solutions; they are representative of two types of commonly freeze-dried products, namely those whose structures are strongly nonuniform in the axial direction, showing a variable pore size with the cake depth and a crust (leading to a strongly nonlinear cake resistance), as well as those whose structures are uniform, with an open structure and, consequently, a cake resistance varying linearly with thickness. The results confirm that the model parameters in both cases can be estimated with an uncertainty that is in agreement with that obtained with other more invasive and expensive sensors. Finally, the strengths and weaknesses of the proposed approach coupled with the use of thermocouples was discussed, comparing with a case using a contactless device (infrared camera).
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Characterizing and measuring the ice nucleation kinetics of aqueous solutions in vials. Chem Eng Sci 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ces.2023.118531] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
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Hsein H, Auffray J, Noel T, Tchoreloff P. Recent advances and persistent challenges in the design of freeze-drying process for monoclonal antibodies. Pharm Dev Technol 2022; 27:942-955. [PMID: 36206457 DOI: 10.1080/10837450.2022.2131818] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Monoclonal antibodies constitute nowadays an important therapeutic class and the number of approved molecules for clinical uses continues to increase, achieving considerable part of the therapeutic market. Yet, the stability in solution of these biopharmaceuticals is often low. That's why freeze-drying has been and remains the method of choice to obtain monoclonal antibodies in the solid state and to improve their stability. The design of freeze-drying process and its optimization are still topical subjects of interest and the pharmaceutical industry is regularly challenged by the requirements of quality, safety and efficiency set by the regulatory authorities. These requirements imply a deep understanding of each step of the freeze-drying process, developing techniques to control the critical parameters and to monitor the quality of the intermediate and the final product. In addition to quality issues, the optimization of the freeze-drying process in order to reduce the cycle length is of great interest since freeze-drying is known to be an energy-expensive and time consuming process. In this review, we will present the recent literature dealing with the freeze-drying of monoclonal antibodies and focus on the process parameters and strategies used to improve the stability of these molecules and to optimize the FD process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hassana Hsein
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, Arts et Metiers Institute of Technology, Bordeaux INP, INRAE, I2M Bordeaux, F-33400 Talence, France
| | - Julie Auffray
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, Arts et Metiers Institute of Technology, Bordeaux INP, INRAE, I2M Bordeaux, F-33400 Talence, France.,Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, Microbiologie Fondamentale et Pathogénicité, UMR 5234, Bordeaux, France
| | - Thierry Noel
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, Microbiologie Fondamentale et Pathogénicité, UMR 5234, Bordeaux, France
| | - Pierre Tchoreloff
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, Arts et Metiers Institute of Technology, Bordeaux INP, INRAE, I2M Bordeaux, F-33400 Talence, France
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Infrared Thermography for Monitoring of Freeze Drying Processes—Part 2: Monitoring of Temperature on the Surface and Vertically in Cuvettes during Freeze Drying of a Pharmaceutical Formulation. Pharmaceutics 2022; 14:pharmaceutics14051007. [PMID: 35631593 PMCID: PMC9144070 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics14051007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2022] [Revised: 04/29/2022] [Accepted: 05/05/2022] [Indexed: 12/10/2022] Open
Abstract
The coupling of an infrared (IR) camera to a freeze dryer for monitoring of the temperature of a pharmaceutical formulation (sucrose/mannitol solution, 4:1%, m/m) during freeze-drying has been exploited further. The new development allows monitoring of temperatures simultaneously at the surface as well as vertically, (e.g., in depth) along the side using custom-made cuvettes. The IR camera was placed on the chamber roof of a process-scale freeze dryer. Monitoring of cuvettes containing the formulation took place from above where one side of each cuvette was equipped with a germanium window. The Ge-window was placed next to an IR mirror having a 45° angle. The long-wave infrared radiation (LWIR) coming from the inside of the cuvette was reflected upwards toward the IR camera. Accurate recording of the temperature along the cuvettes’ depth profile was therefore possible. Direct imaging from −40 °C to 30 °C took place every 60 s on the surface and on the side with a 2 × 2 mm resolution per IR pixel for 45 h resulting in 2700 thermograms. Results are presented for freeze-drying of a pharmaceutical formulation as a function of time and spatially for the entire side (depth) of the cuvette. As the sublimation process was progressing, the spatial resolution (84 IR pixels for the side-view and 64 pixels for the surface-view) was more than sufficient to reveal lower temperatures deeper down in the material. The results show that the pharmaceutical formulation (a true solution at the onset) dries irregularly and that the sublimation front does not progress evenly through the material. During secondary drying, potential evaporative cooling of upper layers could be detected thanks to the high thermal and spatial resolution.
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Harguindeguy M, Stratta L, Fissore D, Pisano R. Combining Mathematical Modeling and Thermal Infrared Data in the Freezing of Pharmaceutical Liquid Formulations. Ind Eng Chem Res 2022. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.iecr.1c04595] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Maitê Harguindeguy
- Department of Applied Science and Technology, Politecnico di Torino, 24 corso Duca degli Abruzzi, IT-10129 Torino, Italy
| | - Lorenzo Stratta
- Molecular Engineering Laboratory, Department of Applied Science and Technology, Politecnico di Torino, 24 corso Duca degli Abruzzi, IT-10129 Torino, Italy
| | - Davide Fissore
- Department of Applied Science and Technology, Politecnico di Torino, 24 corso Duca degli Abruzzi, IT-10129 Torino, Italy
| | - Roberto Pisano
- Molecular Engineering Laboratory, Department of Applied Science and Technology, Politecnico di Torino, 24 corso Duca degli Abruzzi, IT-10129 Torino, Italy
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9
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Deck LT, Ochsenbein DR, Mazzotti M. A Stochastic Shelf-Scale Modeling Framework for the Freezing Stage in Freeze-Drying Processes. Int J Pharm 2021; 613:121276. [PMID: 34767908 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2021.121276] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2021] [Revised: 11/01/2021] [Accepted: 11/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Freezing and freeze-drying processes are commonly used to improve the stability and thus shelf life of pharmaceutical formulations. Despite strict product quality requirements, batch heterogeneity is widely observed in frozen products, thus potentially causing process failure. Such heterogeneity is the result of the stochasticity of ice nucleation and the variability in heat transfer among vials, which lead to unique freezing histories of individual vials. We present for the first time a modeling framework for large-scale freezing processes of vials on a shelf. The model is based on first principles and couples heat transfer with ice nucleation kinetics, thus enabling studies on batch heterogeneity. Ice nucleation is assumed to be an inhomogeneous Poisson process and it is simulated using a Monte Carlo approach. We applied the model to understand the individual pathways leading to batch heterogeneity. Our simulations revealed a novel mechanism how ice nucleation leads to heterogeneity based on thermal interaction among vials. We investigated the effect of various cooling protocols, namely shelf-ramped cooling, holding steps and controlled nucleation, on the nucleation and solidification behavior across the shelf. We found that under rather general conditions holding schemes lead to similar solidification times, as in the case of controlled nucleation, thus identifying a potential pathway for freezing process optimization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leif-Thore Deck
- Institute of Energy and Process Engineering, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - David R Ochsenbein
- The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, Hochstrasse 201, 8200 Schaffhausen, Switzerland
| | - Marco Mazzotti
- Institute of Energy and Process Engineering, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland.
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Surface Treatment of Glass Vials for Lyophilization: Implications for Vacuum-Induced Surface Freezing. Pharmaceutics 2021; 13:pharmaceutics13111766. [PMID: 34834181 PMCID: PMC8625182 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics13111766] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2021] [Revised: 10/15/2021] [Accepted: 10/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Freeze-drying is commonly used to increase the shelf-life of pharmaceuticals and biopharmaceuticals. Freezing represents a crucial phase in the freeze-drying process, as it determines both cycle efficiency and product quality. For this reason, different strategies have been developed to allow for a better control of freezing, among them, the so-called vacuum-induced surface freezing (VISF), which makes it possible to trigger nucleation at the same time in all the vials being processed. We studied the effect of different vial types, characterized by the presence of hydrophilic (sulfate treatment) or hydrophobic (siliconization and TopLyo Si–O–C–H layer) inner coatings, on the application of VISF. We observed that hydrophobic coatings promoted boiling and blow-up phenomena, resulting in unacceptable aesthetic defects in the final product. In contrast, hydrophilic coatings increased the risk of fogging (i.e., the undesired creeping of the product upward along the inner vial surface). We also found that the addition of a surfactant (Tween 80) to the formulation suppressed boiling in hydrophobic-coated vials, but it enhanced the formation of bubbles. This undesired bubbling events induced by the surfactant could, however, be eliminated by a degassing step prior to the application of VISF. Overall, the combination of degasification and surfactant addition seems to be a promising strategy for the successful induction of nucleation by VISF in hydrophobic vials.
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