O-busters help increase shelf-life of drugs

What is oxidative degradation?

While packing pharmaceuticals, one has to be careful not to let oxygen enter the packed space as it can prove harmful for the drug. Oxygen is one of the major causes of degradation in almost all kind of drugs. This process of pharmaceuticals getting spoiled because of oxygen is known as oxidative degradation. In most cases, while the drug is being packed, oxygen will get trapped in the top of the package. Otherwise, oxygen will come into the package during the shelf storage process. After entering the package, oxygen will drastically bring about molecular changes in the drug, thus rendering it useless.

Oxygen can affect pharmaceuticals by bringing about changes in colour, smell etc. It can also create by-products like radicals and peroxides. Once they come in contact with oxygen, the molecular structures present in the drug like the hydroxyl group attached to an aromatic ring, amide and peptide groups, conjugated dienes, nitroso, heterocyclic aromatic rings and nitrite derivatives or aldehydes, will mostly oxidize. If not this, then the oxygen will affect the formulation meant for drug delivery. This will have a drastic effect on the sensitivity of the final product.

How do O-busters help?

Controlling the oxygen levels in the packaged product is one of the topmost priority of pharmaceutical manufacturers. The use of an oxygen absorber or O-buster is a step in the right direction. Once place inside the package, the O-buster will completely control the amount of oxygen present in the top space of the pharmaceutical's main packing. These oxygen absorbers can also take in any moisture entering the packed area from outside. 

With iron systems, oxygen present in a package’s head space is consumed when the iron reacts with the moisture and oxygen.

Working of Oxygen Absorbers

Pharmaceuticals do not have a high water content, which is required for oxygen absorption like in the case of food products. In addition, almost all pharmaceuticals are packed in dry conditions. When an oxygen absorber is placed inside the drug package, the iron content of the desiccant will react with the oxygen present in the head space, thus leaving behind no traces of oxygen in the package.

The reaction of the iron content depends on the amount of moisture and oxygen present in the package so higher the amount of vapour present, higher will be the amount of oxygen absorbed.  So in order to remove all traces of oxygen and moisture from the above space, both should be present in the correct quantities required for the iron to do its work. The moisture and and oxygen amount in the head space mainly depends on the Oxygen Transmission Rate and Moisture Vapour Transmission Rate of the said package under given climate conditions.