Glass containers are often used in pharmaceuticals because they offer some important benefits that other materials do not provide. They are formed by blowing, drawing, pressing and casting. Some of the advantages of glass containers make them an excellent choice for pharmaceutical use.
✱ They are easily sterilized with heat.
✱ Tinted glass protects its contents from certain wavelengths, including the sun's ultraviolet rays.
✱ They are chemically inert and will not react with their contents.
✱ They are impervious to water and air, which makes them excellent storage facilities for medications.
✱ They are transparent, so there is no need to open them to see their contents.
It is also important to let you know that not all glass containers are suitable for medication use. Factors considered when choosing glass containers are sensitivity to calcium and barium ions, thermal expansion, resistance to hydrolysis and limited alkalinity. This is why glass containers are classified for different types of drug use.
Types of Glass Containers
Glass containers are classified as Type I, Type II, Type III and Type IV.
Type I Glass Containers
This type of glass contains 10% boron oxide, 80% silica, and small amounts of aluminum oxide and sodium oxide. The boron oxide makes it highly resistant to hydrolysis and chemically inert. In addition, it has a very low coefficient of expansion and its thermal shock properties are very high. Because of its properties, Type I glass containers are well suited for use as packaging materials for many non-enteric and non-enteric preparations. It can also be used for the storage of strong bases and strong acids.
Type II Glass Containers
This is similar to Type III containers. In fact, Type II glass containers are considered to be a modified version of Type III. Type II containers are highly resistant to hydrolysis. type II glass containers are actually Type III containers with a sulfur treatment on the inner surface. This treatment helps prevent weathering of the container. type II glass typically has a lower melting point than type I glass, making it easier to mold. Type II glass containers are suitable for storing both neutral aqueous and acidic preparations, whether they are parenteral or non-parenteral.
Type III Glass Containers
These types of glass containers are made of 10% calcium oxide, 15% sodium oxide and 75% silica. They also contain trace amounts of aluminum oxide, potassium oxide and magnesium oxide. While the magnesium oxide reduces the temperature required to form the glass, the alumina increases its chemical durability.
This type of glass container is used for packaging non-parenteral preparations and for packaging certain parenteral products.
Type IV Glass Containers
This type of glass container contains universal soda lime, which has low hydrolysis resistance. These glass containers are best suited for autoclaved products because of the increased rate of corrosion reaction in glass containers. type IV glass containers are used for storage of oral dosage forms and topical products.
In summary, glass containers are divided into pharmaceutical I, II, III, and IV categories, all of which are suitable for different purposes.
