Using glass for pharmaceutical packaging solutions can help ensure the contents within the bottles stay secure and don’t leak. Therefore, there’s less risk of it getting spoiled, which can help your reliability among your customers, improving your reputation and profits.
Therefore, here’s an overview of the benefits of using glass in pharmaceutical packaging.
It Is Resistant to Temperatures
Keeping pharmaceutical products at optimal temperatures is integral to the products’ integrity. In some cases, minimal temperature changes can result in changes in the medicine’s properties, which may harm patients consuming it. So, glass containers are excellent at keeping temperatures regulated, ensuring there is no change in the contents within the bottles. In addition to that, glass containers don’t react to changes in external temperature. Therefore, there’s little to no change in its physical properties. So, it won’t let the contents within the container leak either.
It Is Less Likely to Leak
One crucial advantage that glass packaging has over plastic ones is that it does not leak. Therefore, you can be sure that the contents within the container are never exposed to the environment. Moreover, specific plastic bottles tend to leak a particular chemical called Bisphenol A (BPA). Some suggestions indicate that this chemical may lead to adverse effects on patients’ blood pressure and brain if they consume the chemical.
There is still a lack of scientific research to prove that there is a relationship between this chemical and these harmful health conditions. Nevertheless, if your company does not want to risk these effects among your customers, glass packaging eliminates it entirely.
In addition to that, it’s essential always to use glass bottles that have child-resistant packaging for pharmaceuticals. This way, you’ll ensure that none of the contents within the bottles is exposed to children, as that could lead to physical harm.
It Has Nearly Zero Reaction to Chemicals
One of the defining characteristics of glass packaging is that it does not react to nearly all chemicals. Therefore, you can be sure that there is no change in the chemical’s properties, allowing customers to use the products as designed.
This property is especially important in the case of pharmaceuticals because the chemicals have specific mixtures that are intricately balanced. Any disruptions in that may lead to a change in the product, which may negatively affect the chemical’s ability to treat a patient. In addition to that, it also ensures that the flavour, smell, and efficacy of the products are also in the best condition for a more extended period.
It Can Be Recycled Unlike Plastic Containers
Plastic containers can wear quickly overtime after being scratched, dented, or cracked. Excessive light can also damage a plastic container. Once it’s damaged or used, it cannot be reused. Often smells also linger in plastic containers and compliance packaging.
On the other hand, glass bottles can be recycled. Glass is impermeable and nonporous, which means that smells and flavours don’t linger in the containers. As a result, they can be reused for pharmaceutical packaging. In most cases, glass containers already have some bits of recycled material in them.
In addition to that, you can still recycle a glass container even if it breaks. Glass is crushed and reused by glass manufacturers, which can be beneficial for the environment in the long term. Glass is also easy to mould into different shapes and sizes, allowing it to be reused for different types of pharmaceutical products. In addition to that, these containers are easy to label, which is particularly useful in the case of pharmaceutical packaging.
It Can Be Sterilized Easily
Another reason why glass can be readily reused as packaging for more than one pharmaceutical product is that it can be sterilized with ease. Glass will not lose its structure if you subject it to boiling temperatures. Therefore, you can boil it to kill harmful bacteria that may be present in the container. In addition to that, you can also bake glass containers to dry them, and they won’t crack with the excessive heat.
Last Few Words
Glass in pharmaceutical packaging may not be as durable as aluminium options and as lightweight as plastic ones. However, its relative brittleness and other shortcomings can be overlooked when considering how it’s non-reactive to chemicals, temperature resistant, and easy to sterilize. Therefore, plastic and aluminium pharmaceutical packaging do not have the same benefits.
It’s also worth mentioning that some glass bottles are also made to be tough and durable, eliminating the concern of them breaking during handling. This feature can also be beneficial in the case of compliant packaging where containers are regularly handled.
