Advantages of Using Glass Pharmaceutical Packaging

The pharmaceutical packaging sector focuses on developing strong, durable, safe, and sustainable packaging with glass. 

FREMONT, CA: Designing and developing suitable packaging for pharmaceutical products is critical for ensuring the safe transportation, storage, and administration of drugs, some of which could save lives. Plastic and glass are the most popular materials used in pharmaceutical packaging.

Glass is commonly preferred due to its unique properties that allow for fast sterilization and visibility of the substance it contains. Here is how glass is used in pharmaceutical packaging and the advantages it provides.

Types of Glass Packaging for Pharmaceuticals

For decades, the pharmaceutical sector has relied on the glass to provide safe and secure packaging for its wide range of products. This constant dependence on one material is due to the many advantages it offers. Four key types of glass have been developed for use in pharmaceutical packaging over the years.

Type 1: Borosilicate, an ultra-resistant glass. This glass is chemically inert and highly durable.

Type 2: Soda-lime glass with a surface treatment. Chemically, this form of glass is much more inert than borosilicate glass.

Type 3: A standard soda-lime glass This form of glass packaging is like the type 2 glass, but it hasn't been treated, so it doesn't have the same chemical resistance.

Type 4: Soda-lime glass for general use Typically, this form of glass is only used to produce packaging for oral or topical items.

Benefits of Using Glass in Pharmaceutical Packaging

Glass has several advantages when it comes to pharmaceutical packaging. For starters, glass is highly immune to temperature changes. This glass property is extremely useful in the pharmaceutical industry, where products must constantly be stored at specific temperatures to avoid contamination and maintain their properties. As a result, glass can be used to keep the products' temperature encases at an acceptable level.

Chemicals do not affect glass. It's a substance that won't compromise the content's integrity even though it's exposed to other products and chemicals on the outside.

Pharmaceutical products are made up of precise and measured molecule combinations. Contamination of these products presents a significant risk to the people who are treated with these medications. As a result, the fact that glass is highly non-reactive makes it ideal for pharmaceutical packaging.

Another advantage of glass in pharmaceutical packaging is that it does not leak like some plastics (that can leak a chemical known as Bisphenol A or BPA).