Astech Raise the Bar of Inhaler Testing

Astech Projects has developed a fully automated solution for the Andersen Cascade Impactor inhaler test, the Xelize®. Using its extensive industry and automation expertise, Astech has developed the system on the market which can reduce time spent on labour-intensive processes and minimise errors associated with manual systems.

The Astech Xelize is designed around the traditional Andersen Cascade Impactor system but can be tailored to the specific needs of the tester and device, and as a true high throughput system, can improve the efficiency of the inhaler testing and particle size determination (PSD) process.

According to Astech, the new fully automated Xelize is the first system anticipated to achieve a throughput of 40 Andersen impactions per day, a potential 10 fold increase over some manual methods.

Astech Projects’ Sales and Marketing Director, Anthony Moran said, “Throughput is vastly improved with this system as we have moved away from the standard recovery method, i.e. one stage and plate at a time, in series. Instead we have designed the Xelize for parallel operation and recovery of all stages and plates, significantly speeding up the testing process.”

The Xelize provides high capacity storage for up to 200 devices, minimising time spent on manual load. Sophisticated device handling controlled by advanced software, allows easy device manipulation and actuation, with tight control of the dose actuation parameters, improving repeatability of results.

Additionally, sample preparation for HPLC analysis can be fully automated avoiding inconsistencies associated with manual methods. Company-specific coating techniques for Andersen plates, such as fine film spraying, are accommodated and fully automated, allowing repetition of coating, sample capture, retrieval and analysis cycles.