Parenteral Quality Control: Sterility, Pyrogen, Particulate, and Package Integrity Testing

Abstract

Drug products administered by injection are characterized by three qualities possessed by no other type of pharmaceutical dosage form: sterility, freedom from pyrogenicity, and freedom from particulate matter. The achievement of sterile, nonpyrogenic, and particulate-free parenteral products provides a significant challenge to the ingenuity and creativity of parenteral scientists and technologists. Of equal challenge are the successful application and performance of analytical testing procedures to verify the claims of parenteral products that they are indeed, sterile, pyrogen-free, and free from visible particulate contamination. Official compendial tests for sterility, pyrogens, and particulates evoke widespread controversy regarding their reliability, sensitivity, and applicability. While impressive technological advances have been made in the production of parenteral products, the testing for the quality of these products involves relatively simple procedures. One of the objectives of this book is to critique the adequacy of current methods for sterility, pyrogen, particulate, and leak testing and to review future trends and improved technology in these areas.