Mocon's Pac Check 650EC dual oxygen and carbon dioxide benchtop headspace analyser is targeted at low-headspace pharma applications and is said to provide an efficient, accurate way to help manufacturers know if the correct balance of gases are being achieved.
"Single-dose packages such as ampoules, vials, syringes and blow-fill-seal units frequently have gas headspace of less than one cubic centimetre. Instruments need three to four times that to produce an accurate reading, which means that gas needs to be drawn from multiple packages," said Anthony Ahmed, product manager at Mocon, a US provider of instrumentation and laboratory services.
"With headspace that small, occasionally a small amount of liquid might be inadvertently removed and inserted into the analyser along with the gas. Unlike many higher-end lab units, the EC line is more forgiving and less likely to incur an expensive repair should that happen," he said.
The Pac Check 650EC is the second product launched in Mocon's Performance Series, EC (electrochemical) class. It has a simplified menu allowing users to go from set-up to test in less than a minute and can measure oxygen and carbon dioxide concentrations from 0 to 100% in rigid, semi-rigid and flexible packages.
The unit also allows both automatic and manual gas sampling. The manual mode (which relies on a septum and a syringe) is more suited to packages with smaller amounts of headspace. Gas collected via syringe is then inserted into the instrument through a port and measurement takes place.
In automatic mode, a septum is applied to the package via a pressure-sensitive adhesive. Next, a probe is inserted through the septum, which creates a hermetic seal. A gas sample is drawn by pushing a button to activate a pump and create a vacuum. The gas passes through the needle and tube assembly, through the septum to the instrument's sensors. Results are available in seconds.
The instrument also includes Mocon's Flo Smart technology and the patent-pending Cal-Smart calibration feature. Flo Smart is a sensing system that knows when a blockage has occurred in the testing line, notifying the operator so that faulty readings can be prevented.
Cal-Smart uses ambient air and advanced electronic controls to perform a two-point calibration.