A major pharmaceutical customer asked Matthias at our Suisse Technology Partners division to investigate this. For a product where packaging integrity is critical, this question has fascinating implications.
What was tested:
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Opening torque on first and second use (with the influence of a tamper evidence ring)
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Opening torque after 60 and 120 cycles/openings
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Simulated human grip using 80 newtons (approx. 8 kg of axial force) to overcome the child safety lock
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Analysis of the geometries of closure and bottle
How it was tested:
Analysis of the opening mechanism using:
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Computer Tomography (CT)
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Light Microscopy (LM)
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Measurement of the opening torque at a defined angular velocity under constant axial force using a specifically developed test rig on a universal testing machine
Why it matters:
The closure of a bottle for pharmaceutical products contains several functions, some of which have a contradictory effect on the opening behaviour:
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The child-resistant closure must ensure that the bottle cannot be opened by children.
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Meanwhile, the bottle must be able to be opened by older, sometimes mobility-challenged individuals.
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The closure must tighten well to ensure the required barrier against water vapor remains, even after several openings.
- The tamper evidence ring must be torn off when the bottle is first opened to indicate that the product has been opened. This additionally increases the opening torque.
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Finally, it must still be easy to open! The opening torque must not exceed certain values.
The result?
We were able to characterise the opening behaviour, determine the cause of excessive torques and, in a second step, determine the opening characteristics of optimized bottles and lids.
What the team are solving:
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Determination of barrier properties and shelf life
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Performance testing of existing packaging solutions
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Design of new pharmaceutical packaging with regard to barrier and shelf life of the product
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Problem- and failure-analysis
In pharma, packaging isn't just a container. It's part of the product. Getting the right balance between performance and usability is non-negotiable.
