Cleaning validation for blister packaging machines in hospital-supplying pharmacies.

Objective: To ensure quality-assured care for patients, validation of a cleaning process for blister machines is essential. Due to the high operating costs of maintaining high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) which is mainly used for this type of analysis, a new, quick and cost-effective analysis method using UV-Vis spectroscopy has been developed.

Method: Marker substances (metamizole (dipyrone) and paracetamol tablets) were packed in blisters. Afterwards test tablets were packaged before and after cleaning the blister machine and examined for contamination using UV-Vis spectroscopy.

Results: UV-Vis spectroscopy has been shown to be superior to HPLC analysis for cleaning validation of blister machines, as it is much faster and cheaper, requires less equipment and personnel effort, while maintaining the same reliability and sensitivity.

Conclusion: Unit-dose blistering is becoming increasingly popular in the daily routine of hospital pharmacies worldwide due to a variety of advantages. Therefore, cleaning validation of blistering machines has become a mandatory duty of care. The UV-Vis spectroscopic method presented here is the first innovative method suitable for the cleaning validation of blister machines to date.