Spiral jet mill has been developed to micronise batches of powder as small as 0.2g, making it suitable for dealing with the first stages of development in laboratories and R and D departments
Isopak is targeting laboratories and R and D departments with a new spiral jet mill that has been developed to micronise extremely small batches of powder.
Supplied into the UK by Isopak, the LaboMill is ideal for dealing with the first stages of development and can handle batches starting from only 0.2 grams up to 100 grams.
Developed by a leading Italian manufacturer of spiral jet mills, Food Pharma Systems (FPS), the internal milling chamber has been specially designed to eliminate turbulence and optimise the jet streams.
The LaboMill can be supplied with both bottom and top-discharge configurations and, unlike typical rectangular and octagonal spiral jet mills, the LaboMill has a continuous shape and has grinding nozzles that help maintain a non-turbulent motion of particles.
This elimination of turbulence stops powder sticking against the chamber walls to form crusts and prevents particles from being prematurely classified in the centre of the mill.
Another special feature of the LaboMill is its non-tangential Venturi-entry, whereby powder enters diagonally from the top, directly into the spiral, without having blowback and allowing the mill to use 100% of the available energy, both at the Venturi-entry and at the grinding nozzles.
To allow a precise and constant feeding of the powder into the milling chamber, FPS has developed another miniaturisation of a feeding unit, the LaboFeeder, a single screw-dosing unit completely encased in stainless steel.
It will substitute typical hand feeding of such small quantities offering a much higher reliability of the final results.
Isopak says the LaboMill's unique design will save money for the pharmaceutical industry: "While competitors claim laboratories are able to save money with equipment which can deal with batches as low as 5g, FPS's spiral jet mill technology can take the five-gram starting point down to much tinier amounts, even 0.2 of a gram.
"This is something the industry has been craving for years, but FPS has been able to take the process down to these levels.
"We really are talking of extremely small batches of powder, something which will allow much more experimentation in the pharmaceutical laboratories of the UK and Ireland than has been the case in the past.
"It opens up the possibility of increased research into treatments and cures for a whole range of illnesses, from asthma to heart disease for example.
"Further advantages of the new design include balance and control of pressures within the whole micronisation system, reduction of contact surfaces, lower product loss and easy cleaning.
"We believe we are on to a winner here.
"FPS has taken spiral jet mill technology into a fresh dimension and can offer things none of their competitors can match.''
