In many different industries, but particularly in the pharmaceutical and medical device packaging industries, blister packaging is becoming the go-to packaging option.
Blister packaging, which may also be known as blister cards, is a cost-effective, reliable packaging method that seals individual products or dosages and stores them safely away from humidity, UV light, contamination or other types of environmental issues. The use of specific types of formed rigid or semi-rigid bases and covering foils or films have an impact on the durability of the blister packaging, which will be critical to evaluate as well as test.
Leak Issues
It is part of the verification and validation process in any type of pharmaceutical or medical device packaging facility to complete leak testing. The traditional or common leak test for blisters cannot be the same as used for other types of larger packaging as the volume of air inside the blister is too small.
This means that water submersion to test for the release of bubbles to indicate a poor seal or the use of vacuum decay methods is not a suitable leak test for blisters.
Inflation Testing and Closed Chamber Testing
A reliable type of leak test for blisters can include both inflation packing integrity testers as well as closed chamber package tests.
The inflation packing integrity testers will use air to test when the seal begins to creep, creep to failure as well as burst. This can be used with rigid blisters very effectively.
The closed chamber testing is non-destructive, and allows for pressurization or evacuation of the chamber to allow for stabilization and then tested for pressure or vacuum decay that indicates a problem with the seal and a detectable leak. Highly reliable, these methods can be customized for any type of blister packaging.
