Nitrogen use in medicine production
Due to its inert nature, nitrogen gas and also liquid nitrogen are commonly used in medicine production to prevent oxidation, ensure sterility and preserve/treat samples. Liquid nitrogen is often utilized in cryopreservation and cryomilling at very low temperatures.
Key applications include:
- Nitrogen gas is often used for blanketing and inerting, displacing oxygen and moisture during medicine manufacturing to prevent oxidation of active pharmaceutical ingredients.
- Liquid nitrogen is often used for the freezing/cooling of compounds. The flash-freezing of protein solutions enables long-term preservation of protein structure by instantaneously halting molecular movement and preventing ice crystals from forming.
- The wider phamaceutical industry also uses LN2 for the cryopreservation of vaccines, cells, and samples. These are used for drug development, research, and regenerative medicine.
- Cryomilling is a process that relies on liquid nitrogen to freeze compounds at extreme temperatures, making them brittle and easy to grind to a micro/nano-sized powders.
The importance of reliable nitrogen supply for pharmaceutical production applications
Precision and consistency are crucial in the competitive pharmaceutical manufacturing industry. Having a reliable, continuous supply of nitrogen reduces dependency on external factors that can pose serious risks.
Without this assurance, the supply disruption can cause:
- Interrupted processes: Critical operations such as pressure transfer, purging, or the creation of powders could be halted.
- Compromised quality: Temperature fluctuations due to insufficient cryogenic cooling can cause drug instability, sample loss, and risk regulatory compliance. Biological materials can degrade very quickly if LN2 levels drop - often causing irreversible loss within minutes!
- Financial impact: Downtime and repeated processing, lost samples and wasted reagents create significant costs that can be prevented.
- Project delays: Unreliable nitrogen supply can slow down clinical trials and production timelines, impacting deadlines.
On-site nitrogen generation benefits
On-site nitrogen generators for medicine production offer an efficient, cost-effective and sustainable solution. By choosing on-demand generation at point of use, pharmaceutical operations gain operational independence, improved safety, and consistent control over their supply.
Which generator is right for me?
Smaller, compact units offer flexibility for production and laboratory facilities with low to moderate needs, and are easy to install and set up.
Larger, skid-mounted generators provide high-capacity, automated production for large-scale operations, supporting critical processes while keeping operational costs low and downtime at absolute minimum. This is ideal for large facilities where there could be multiple users or different applications relying on a steady liquid nitrogen supply.
Noblegen liquid nitrogen generators for medicine production
The Noblegen Triton series of generators are a compact, plug-and-play liquid nitrogen (LN₂) generator range designed with laboratories and pharmaceutical environments in mind. Triton provides high-purity liquid nitrogen on demand with a small footprint, low power consumption, and integrated safety features.
In pharmaceutical production, Triton systems are ideal for cryogenic sample preservation, laboratory research, stability testing, and supporting analytical instruments where a reliable local supply of LN₂ is required.
The mid-range Callisto systems feature a dual-cabinet design that delivers higher LN₂ production at 20-60l/day while maintaining efficient on-site operation.
It is well suited to pharmaceutical facilities requiring larger volumes of sterile liquid nitrogen for biopreservation, vaccine development, biologic manufacturing, and research applications. By generating LN₂ on-site, Callisto helps reduce dependence on delivered liquid nitrogen while ensuring a consistent supply for critical pharmaceutical processes.
The robust Titan range encompasses high-capacity, skid-mounted liquid nitrogen platforms designed for large-scale and continuous LN₂ demand up to 800l+ per day. With significantly greater production and storage capabilities, Titan is suitable for pharmaceutical manufacturing sites, biobanks, and major research facilities.
In pharmaceutical production, Titan can support high-volume cryogenic storage, biologics manufacturing, large freeze-drying processes, and other temperature-critical operations that require a dependable, on-site alternative to bulk LN₂ deliveries.
Conclusion
Nitrogen generators for medicine manufacturing find their use in key processes such as cryopreservation of samples, lyophilization (pre-freezing of vaccines and biologicals) and equipment cooling.
With an on-demand liquid nitrogen generator, users can benefit from a reliable, autonomous supply that never runs out or gets delayed. Investing in a nitrogen generator is not only a more sustainable supply method but it also eliminates boil-off losses that occur during transportation and handling that make it more cost-efficient.
Medicine production facilities should consider on-site generation to eliminate dependence on third-party schedules, thereby improving production stability, lowering costs, and unlocking operational efficiency.
Get in touch with Noblegen Cryogenics if you're looking to explore switching to on-site generation and our team will be happy to walk you through the process.