The use of dry ice in packaging may soon be a thing of the past, claims Laminar Medica, designers and manufacturers of temperature controlled packaging for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.
Its new product, Mediphase-15 phase change material (PCM) aims to eliminate all the issues that make the use of dry ice problematic.
Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas and classified as Class 9 Dangerous Goods. Shipping quantities can be limited by certain airlines and freight premiums may also apply. Also the cold energy release of dry ice is -80°C, which means that it can be too cold for delicate products and can damage them.
The name MediPhase-15 refers to the -15°C at which products using the new system are maintained in transit.
Laminar's new frozen PCM's are salt based and manufactured in-house according to the IS0900:2000 Quality Management System.
They are available in a pre-validated range of three shipping systems of 4.8, 21.1 and 46.8 litres respectively.