History of Ampoule Filling and Sealing Machine & How It Works?

Machines today have increased the production and efficiency in almost all the industrial verticals. It reduces operation costs and focuses on the growth of the business. For a long time, better treatment process, medicines and equipment were required. Hence, to meet the requirement ampoules were developed. These bottles are safe to store and transport liquid and powdered medicines. It has changed the face of the pharmaceutical industry. In this article, you will get the knowledge of the evolution of ampoule and the process of how filling and sealing machine works.

What is an ampoule?

An ampoule is a small sealed container made of glass (glass bottle). It contains liquid drugs usually used in hospitals for injection. Modern-day ampoules are highly secured as it does not intact with the content and protect it from air and contaminants and maintain its purity due to the hermetical sealing process they undergo. The bottles are sealed by melting the thin top with open flame. To open the bottle break at the neck in one go. These containers contain a single dose of medicine.

Evolution of ampoule filling and sealing machine

The evolution of ampoule was before the 1890s; it was used for various purposes. By 1840 these ampoules were used to store chloroform required for anaesthetic in healthcare institutions. But as time changed over, new inventions in medicines and technology took place. Based on this modern-day hermetically sealed glass ampoules were invented in by French pharmacist, Stanislaus Limousin. These bottles store sterile solutions for a pharmaceutical used. This practise is still followed today.

The general purpose to invent ampoule was to store gas, liquid and solid. Apart from its usage in the medicinal sector, cosmetic industries also make use of it by providing samples of their products.

Ampoule sealing techniques

There are two methods to seal the glass ampoule

• Tip sealing method
• Pull sealing method

In the tip sealing method, heat is evenly applied on all sides of the neck to melt form a bead. These kind of sealing methods are common in liquid filling ampoules.

In pull sealing method, are commonly used for containers filled with powder as they require a large opening. The neck of the bottle is heated with a burner till the glass becomes soft. With the help of a mechanical device, the top is pulled and twisted.

How ampoule filling and sealing machine works?

Above we have read about ampoule and its evolution as well as its techniques. Here in the context, we will discuss the working process of Ampoule filling & sealing machine. These machines are essential equipment and play a remarkable role in processing pharmaceutical products that are liquids. The use of these machines are not only limited to the medicinal sector but also used in biotech, chemical, and cosmetic industries.

The machines are built on the principles of slant traveling of the ampoule during filling and sealing. These machines are compact and hold the capacity to fill and seal thirty to one fifty bottles in a minute. It has self-centred grippers for the transportation of the ampoules. The containers are sterilized first, placed in a tray and directly loaded into the slant hopper of the unit. Once the bottles are placed into the hopper the filling process starts. Wheels start to deliver the rack one at a time either in a single, two, four or six bottles. Now, bottles have reached the hopper and the rack stops. The process of pre-gassing, post-gassing, filling and pre-heating is carried out. After the sealing of the bottles, the ampoules are collected on the tray.