The ice nucleation temperature determines the primary drying rate of lyophilization for samples frozen on a temperature-controlled shelf.

The objective of this study was to determine the influence of ice nucleation temperature on the primary drying rate during lyophilization for samples in vials that were frozen on a lyophilizer shelf. Aqueous solutions of 10% (w/v) hydroxyethyl starch were frozen in vials with externally mounted thermocouples and then partially lyophilized to determine the primary drying rate. Low- and high-particulate-containing samples, ice-nucleating additives silver iodide and Pseudomonas syringae, and other methods were used to obtain a wide range of nucleation temperatures. In cases where the supercooling exceeded 5 degrees C, freezing took place in the following three steps: (1) primary nucleation, (2) secondary nucleation encompassing the entire liquid volume, and (3) final solidification. The primary drying rate was dependent on the ice nucleation temperature, which is stochastic in nature but is affected by particulate content and the presence of ice nucleators. Sample cooling rates of 0.05 to 1 degrees C/min had no effect on nucleation temperatures and drying rate. We found that the ice nucleation temperature is the primary determinant of the primary drying rate. However, the nucleation temperature is not under direct control, and its stochastic nature and sensitivity to difficult-to-control parameters result in drying rate heterogeneity. Nucleation temperature heterogeneity may also result in variation in other morphology-related parameters such as surface area and secondary drying rate. Overall, these results document that factors such as particulate content and vial condition, which influence ice nucleation temperature, must be carefully controlled to avoid, for example, lot-to-lot variability during cGMP production. In addition, if these factors are not controlled and/or are inadvertently changed during process development and scaleup, a lyophilization cycle that was successful on the research scale may fail during large-scale production.

Annealing to optimize the primary drying rate, reduce freezing-induced drying rate heterogeneity, and determine T(g)' in pharmaceutical lyophilization.

In a companion paper we show that the freezing of samples in vials by shelf-ramp freezing results in significant primary drying rate heterogeneity because of a dependence of the ice crystal size on the nucleation temperature during freezing.1 The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that post-freezing annealing, in which the product is held at a predetermined temperature for a specified duration, can reduce freezing-induced heterogeneity in sublimation rates. In addition, we test the impact of annealing on primary drying rates. Finally, we use the kinetics of relaxations during annealing to provide a simple measurement of T(g)', the glass transition temperature of the maximally freeze-concentrated amorphous phase, under conditions and time scales most appropriate for industrial lyophilization cycles. Aqueous solutions of hydroxyethyl starch (HES), sucrose, and HES:sucrose were either frozen by placement on a shelf while the temperature was reduced ("shelf-ramp frozen") or by immersion into liquid nitrogen. Samples were then annealed for various durations over a range of temperatures and partially lyophilized to determine the primary drying rate. The morphology of fully dried liquid nitrogen-frozen samples was examined using scanning electron microscopy. Annealing reduced primary drying rate heterogeneity for shelf-ramp frozen samples, and resulted in up to 3.5-fold increases in the primary drying rate. These effects were due to increased ice crystal sizes, simplified amorphous structures, and larger and more numerous holes on the cake surface of annealed samples. Annealed HES samples dissolved slightly faster than their unannealed counterparts. Annealing below T(g)' did not result in increased drying rates. We present a simple new annealing-lyophilization method of T(g)' determination that exploits this phenomenon. It can be carried out with a balance and a freeze-dryer, and has the additional advantage that a large number of candidate formulations can be evaluated simultaneously.

Effective analgesia following perineal injury during childbirth: a placebo controlled trial of prophylactic rectal diclofenac.

OBJECTIVE: To determine if diclofenac suppositories administered prophylactically produce effective and lasting analgesia following perineal injury. DESIGN: A randomised double blind placebo controlled trial. SETTING: York District Hospital. POPULATION: One hundred women sustaining objective perineal injury (second degree tear or episiotomy) during spontaneous vaginal delivery at term. METHODS: Suppositories were administered at the time of repair and approximately 12 hours later. The suppositories were randomised prior to issue by the pharmacy department and contained either 100 mg diclofenac or placebo. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Pain scores assessed at 12, 24, 48 and 72 hours after delivery using a six point numerical scoring system and the use of additional analgesia and local treatments to the perineum. RESULTS: The mean pain score was significantly reduced in the diclofenac group at 24, 48 and 72 hours after delivery (0.86, 0.7 and 0.59, respectively) compared with the control group (1.64, 1.31 and 1.5; P < 0.005). In addition there was less supplementary analgesia required (eight women only at 72 hours compared with 15 in the control group) and this was limited to paracetamol or topical treatments to the perineum. CONCLUSION: Prophylactic rectal diclofenac provides effective analgesia after perineal repair and its effect appears to be maintained into the second and third postpartum days.

Viable cell recycle with an inclined settler in the perfusion culture of suspended recombinant Chinese hamster ovary cells.

The perfusion culture of suspended mammalian cells requires a cell retention device, the best of which will retain all viable cells and reject all nonviable cells and debris. The inclined settler is a passive, simple, inexpensive, and easy-to-maintain device that has been shown in the past to selectively remove single nonviable cells of hybridoma cultures. In this work, we have demonstrated the preferential return of viable recombinant Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells through the use of a three-port settler maintained at lower temperatures and vibrated to reduce cell attachment and enhance cell return to the bioreactor. The residence time of CHO cells in the cooled, vibrated settler was determined by flow-cytometric discrimination of tracer recombinant CHO cells. Cells returning to the bioreactor through the underflow had an average residence time of 1.46 h in the settler. During perfusion cultures with cell densities above 10(6) cells/mL, cells seen to be stalled within the settler were easily dislodged by periodic air bubbling using a simple back-flushing procedure in which headspace gas was brought through the settler underflow port. The resuspended cells were returned to the bioreactor within an average of 32 min after bubbling. This study demonstrates that inclined sedimentation technology can be utilized to selectively recycle viable recombinant CHO cells with only a short retention time in an inclined settler.