“Essential Role of Desiccators in Pharmaceutical Stability and Quality Control”

Introduction: 

A desiccator is a simple device made to keep the samples or materials in dry condition or simply it can also be considered a drying device, which picks up the moisture from the materials and maintains a dry environment. A desiccator is usually used in laboratories and factories to prevent moisture uptake by the samples.

Components of Desiccator 

•  A desiccator usually consists of a glass enclosing with lid which is also made up of glass.
• It is a sealed chamber with airtight lid
•  A desiccant is placed in the desiccator which maintains dry environment usually silica gel is used as desiccant.
• A Perforated plate is used as a support to the materials placed in the desiccator
• The Perforated plate also acts as a separation between the desiccant and the sample materials, preventing direct contact of the samples with the silica gel.

TYPES OF DESICCATORS :

Standard Desiccator:  This is a simple design used for the storage of moisture sensitive materials. It is generally used in labs of colleges as well as by quality control department.

Vacuum Desiccator: This type of desiccators has valve connection so, that it can be connected to a vacuum setup, and it aids in removal of air from the chamber reducing the moisture content. It is similar to the standard one, but addition of vacuum connection.

Digital Desiccator: These are advanced ones with digital humidity indicators or controls to monitor and maintain specific humidity levels within the chamber.

Moisture absorption in the desiccator:

The silica gel placed in the desiccator interacts with the air in and it attracts the water molecules towards itself and maintains the surroundings dry 

Silica gel usually needs to be changed at certain point of time, when it is fully consumed which can be identified by color change as of now, most of the silica gels have color indicator.

Moisture sieves, calcium chloride are also used as desiccants in the desiccator.

Usually, these desiccants are placed at the bottom of the desiccator below the perforated plate.

Uses: 

• The desiccators are used to store samples until analysis, to maintain their stability and prevent moisture uptake by moisture sensitive materials.