1-11 When a hollow needle is inserted into a pharmaceutical closure or plug, the process known as “coring” is initiated. This causes particles of substance to be removed from the closure or plug. A core is the actual material particle that is sliced from the closure material, and it is often hidden away in the lumen of the needle where it cannot be seen.
What is coring and how can you prevent it?
Coring is the process that occurs when a little piece of the rubber stopper of a vial breaks off and causes the contents of a sterile vial to become contaminated. In most cases, it can be seen floating on top of the drug, within the medication itself, or adhered to the wall of the vial on the inside.
After that, the fragment of the foreign body in question can be drawn into a syringe and then injected into a patient. It is possible that workers will not be on the lookout for this because of the small size of the coring. Additionally, if the visualization is obscured by a label, a matching backdrop, or a colored vial, the coring may also go missed.3 Other reports of coring, as well as patent applications for needles that prevent coring, suggest that coring continues to occur and is a problem that has not been completely solved even though it is most likely a rare occurrence.
This is despite the fact that coring is most likely a low-frequency event.3 When puncturing a vial, reducing the risk of coring can be accomplished by following the suggested procedures and making sure the equipment used is of the appropriate size.
What is meant by the term coring in chemistry?
Coring is the process that occurs when a heated alloy, such as a Cu-Ni system, cools under circumstances that are not equilibrium. The center of each grain, which is the first part to freeze, is rich in the high-melting element (for example, nickel for this Cu–Ni system), whereas the concentration of the low-melting element increases with position from this region to the grain boundary.
- The first part of each grain to freeze contains a high concentration of the high-melting element.
- This kind of construction is known as a “cored structure,” and it results in qualities that aren’t quite as good as they could be.
- Within the grains, the two components have a nonuniform distribution, which is referred to as the process known as “segregation.” This means that concentration gradients are formed all the way across the grains.
When a casting with a cored structure is reheated, the grain boundary areas will melt first due to the fact that they contain a higher concentration of the component that has a low melting point. Because of the thin layer of liquid that separates the grains, this causes an abrupt breakdown in the material’s mechanical integrity.
- In addition, this melting can start at a temperature that is lower than the temperature at which the alloy is at an equilibrium solidus.
- The elimination of coring is possible by the utilization of a homogenization heat treatment that is carried out at a temperature lower than the point of solidus for the specific alloy composition.
During this process, atomic diffusion takes place, which results in grains that are uniform in terms of their composition. The phenomenon of coring is most commonly seen in alloys that have a significant temperature gap between their liquidus and solidus points.
What is coring and fragmentation of a stopper?
When the closure of a vial is pierced with a needle for the purpose of extracting medications from the vial or introducing new pharmaceuticals into the vial, there is a high likelihood that the vial may become fragmented and/or cored. Coring and fragmentation are two separate processes, despite the fact that these terms are sometimes used interchangeably.
The process of coring occurs when a needle pierces a rubber closure and simultaneously rips away cores (or slivers) from the closure. Sometimes the form of the core is more like a longitudinal. When a needle pierces through a rubber closure and abrades the rubber material, this process is known as fragmentation.
Fragmentation results in the creation of particles that are often very minute and irregular in shape. Needless to say, the rubber closure and the needle are the two most important contributors to the processes of coring and fragmentation. Despite the fact that each appears to be easy to handle, there are really a number of factors that need to be taken into account and governed.
- When it comes to the closure, the two most important factors to take into consideration are the abrasiveness of the rubber compound and the depth of the stopper diaphragm where the needle will be inserted.
- However, in terms of the needle, there is a wide variety of quality factors (such as sharpness and consistency), designs (including bevel angle, needle gauge, and heel type), and textures (smoothness, siliconization, etc.).
Additionally, there are a variety of piercing techniques (speed, angle of puncture, number of times needle is reused, etc.) that are utilized by the numerous healthcare providers located all over the world as well as patients who are administering drugs to themselves in the comfort of their own homes.
- It is absolutely necessary for there to be excellent communication between medication producers and healthcare practitioners, as well as at-home patients and carers, in order to effectively prevent coring and fragmentation.
- It is necessary for a medicine maker to be familiar with the method of puncturing that is most frequently utilized by the intended healthcare practitioners.
In a similar vein, healthcare providers want to get in touch with medication producers in order to convey their requirements. Please get in touch with your company’s representative for Technical Customer Support if you would like to have a more in-depth conversation regarding coring and fragmentation.
What is the use of coring in alloys?
Coring is the process that occurs when a heated alloy, such as a Cu-Ni system, cools under circumstances that are not equilibrium. The center of each grain, which is the first part to freeze, is rich in the high-melting element (for example, nickel for this Cu–Ni system), whereas the concentration of the low-melting element increases with position from this region to the grain boundary.
The first part of each grain to freeze contains a high concentration of the high-melting element. This kind of construction is known as a “cored structure,” and it results in qualities that aren’t quite as good as they could be. Within the grains, the two components have a nonuniform distribution, which is referred to as the process known as “segregation.” This means that concentration gradients are formed all the way across the grains.
When a casting with a cored structure is reheated, the grain boundary areas will melt first due to the fact that they contain a higher concentration of the component that has a low melting point. Because of the thin layer of liquid that separates the grains, this causes an abrupt breakdown in the material’s mechanical integrity.
- In addition, this melting can start at a temperature that is lower than the temperature at which the alloy is at an equilibrium solidus.
- The elimination of coring is possible by the utilization of a homogenization heat treatment that is carried out at a temperature lower than the point of solidus for the specific alloy composition.
During this process, atomic diffusion takes place, which results in grains that are uniform in terms of their composition. The phenomenon of coring is most commonly seen in alloys that have a significant temperature gap between their liquidus and solidus points.