Question:
How do you clean residual silicone oils from polyimide film surfaces during a lamination process (polyimide bonded to Inconel metal foils)? The oil is only contacting the polyimide. What can be used to clean this polyimide surface that will leave behind no residue?
Answer:
You have a very challenging problem here. Silicone oils are very tenacious and difficult to remove. Polyimides are somewhat delicate and some do not like water, so you will have to confirm these factors prior to using water based cleaners, which is what Alconox sells. Moreover, polyimides often don’t tolerate alkalinity or high temperature. Typcially silicone oils are removed by high emulsifying alkaline cleaners at very high temperatures. For most silicone oil cleaning we recommend 2% Alconox at 170 deg F under immersion cleaning. Assuming the polyimide being cleaned is thermoset, you should be ok with high temperature, however since there may be a problem with alkalinity compatibility, so our recommendation is an acid cleaner, Citranox. Specifically 4% Citranox at 170 deg F using immersion cleaning, ideally in an ultrasonic tank if that is available or alternatively by soaking and using some sort of devise to mechanically clean with, i.e. a wipe or soft brush. Citranox is a high emulsifying mild acid (pH 2.5) cleaner that has the best chance to clean silicone oils. We suggest that you try 10 minutes in an ultrasonic tank or 30 minutes of soaking followed by some sort of mechanical cleaning. If the polyimide can not withstand heat, then the only reasonable thing to try is the hottest temperature 2% Alconox solution that the polyimide will tolerate. Ideally use ultrasonic cleaning or the same soaking/scrubbing process stated above with triple the soak times.
Alconox cleaners are available globally with consistent formulations and are GMP compliant. Downloadable certificates of analysis, technical bulletins, MSDS, trace analysis, and inhibitory residue testing are available from the Alconox website at Alconox.com.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Residual Solvent Statement
Question:
Do Alconox brands contain class 1, class 2, class 3 or class 4 residual solvent ingredients? Where can an official statement concerning the residual solvent content be found, as it is required to have on file to comply with current USP guidelines.
Answer:
Alconox brands do not contain no class 1, class 2, class 3 or class 4 residual solvent ingredients. In the lower left hand corner all certificates of analysis (COA) have the statement "Contains no class 1, class 2, class 3, or class 4 residual solvent ingredients as defined by ICH Q3C guidelines."
The COAs are available online at www.alconox.com at the top center of the page by using a valid product lot number.
Do Alconox brands contain class 1, class 2, class 3 or class 4 residual solvent ingredients? Where can an official statement concerning the residual solvent content be found, as it is required to have on file to comply with current USP guidelines.
Answer:
Alconox brands do not contain no class 1, class 2, class 3 or class 4 residual solvent ingredients. In the lower left hand corner all certificates of analysis (COA) have the statement "Contains no class 1, class 2, class 3, or class 4 residual solvent ingredients as defined by ICH Q3C guidelines."
The COAs are available online at www.alconox.com at the top center of the page by using a valid product lot number.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Spots on Glassware
Question:
I have an under the counter glassware washer and I keep finding spots on the glassware after each cleaning. I am fairly certain that the detergent is responsible. At this point I want to replace the detergent but I don’t know what product would work better. What is the difference between an acidic and alkali detergent? Is a neutralizer necessary? What does having an ionic and anionic detergent do for you?
Answer:
The three most common causes of spots on glassware are: heavy metal hydroxide/oxide deposits; water spots from hard tap water rinsing; and water spots from improper glassware loading with wash water holding cups such as the upturned bottoms of large graduated cylinders that are not loaded at an angle to allow proper drainage.
If you have any glassware residues of heavy metals that form insoluble hydroxides/oxides at alkaline pH, then you need an acid rinse to remove these. Citrajet is the recommended product. Hopefully your washer has some provisions for dosing a liquid acid rinse during a rinse cycle.
If you have hard tap water that is being used to rinse with, then you need to take precautions to assure that this tap water does not dry on to your glassware and leave mineral deposits. This can be achieved by putting in deionized water rinsing, eliminating the heated drying cycle and manually rinsing in deionized water, skipping the heated evaporating drying cycle and doing some kind of manual water removing drying process (wiping, blowing, or isopropanol dipping off the tap water and not allowing it to evaporate and form spots),
You can open the machine during a wash cycle and inspect the glassware to see if there is any significant volume of wash water that is trapped due to the way it is loaded in the racks. Change the angle at which you load problem glassware to allow drainage, or wash the problematic glassware by hand to avoid this problem.
If you suspect that the residues are simply dried on detergent due to incomplete rinsing, you could confirm this by doing a quick cursory water rinse of the problem glassware. If the residue comes off quickly and easily in water, then you may well have simple detergent residue. This would indicate something wrong with the rinsing. Check the programming to make sure multiple rinse cycles are running. Open and inspect the washer during rinse cycles to make sure water is actually getting in to rinse with. Consider running any empty cycle with Citrajet acid rinse (just dump a few ounces in to the bottom of the chamber at the start of a wash cycle if there is no way to dose in an acid rinse - this will unclog any clogged up spray jets inside the washer. Note this type of failure is fairly unusual, but I wanted to address it because you indicate that this is what you think is happening.
Neutralizers or acid rinses are required when any metal residue is present that can cause the formation of an insoluble metal hydroxide or oxide. As a generalization, you should use nonionic detergents. You need to use low or non foaming detergents in a washer. The most common low or non foaming detergents are nonionic.
Alconox, Inc manufactures several brands of detergents for under the counter machine washers, our customer recommendations for "http://www.alconox.com/static/section_customer/ind_lab.asp">Laboratory.
Alconox cleaners are available globally with consistent formulations and are GMP compliant. Downloadable certificates of analysis, technical bulletins, MSDS, trace analysis, and inhibitory residue testing are available from the Alconox website at Alconox.com.
I have an under the counter glassware washer and I keep finding spots on the glassware after each cleaning. I am fairly certain that the detergent is responsible. At this point I want to replace the detergent but I don’t know what product would work better. What is the difference between an acidic and alkali detergent? Is a neutralizer necessary? What does having an ionic and anionic detergent do for you?
Answer:
The three most common causes of spots on glassware are: heavy metal hydroxide/oxide deposits; water spots from hard tap water rinsing; and water spots from improper glassware loading with wash water holding cups such as the upturned bottoms of large graduated cylinders that are not loaded at an angle to allow proper drainage.
If you have any glassware residues of heavy metals that form insoluble hydroxides/oxides at alkaline pH, then you need an acid rinse to remove these. Citrajet is the recommended product. Hopefully your washer has some provisions for dosing a liquid acid rinse during a rinse cycle.
If you have hard tap water that is being used to rinse with, then you need to take precautions to assure that this tap water does not dry on to your glassware and leave mineral deposits. This can be achieved by putting in deionized water rinsing, eliminating the heated drying cycle and manually rinsing in deionized water, skipping the heated evaporating drying cycle and doing some kind of manual water removing drying process (wiping, blowing, or isopropanol dipping off the tap water and not allowing it to evaporate and form spots),
You can open the machine during a wash cycle and inspect the glassware to see if there is any significant volume of wash water that is trapped due to the way it is loaded in the racks. Change the angle at which you load problem glassware to allow drainage, or wash the problematic glassware by hand to avoid this problem.
If you suspect that the residues are simply dried on detergent due to incomplete rinsing, you could confirm this by doing a quick cursory water rinse of the problem glassware. If the residue comes off quickly and easily in water, then you may well have simple detergent residue. This would indicate something wrong with the rinsing. Check the programming to make sure multiple rinse cycles are running. Open and inspect the washer during rinse cycles to make sure water is actually getting in to rinse with. Consider running any empty cycle with Citrajet acid rinse (just dump a few ounces in to the bottom of the chamber at the start of a wash cycle if there is no way to dose in an acid rinse - this will unclog any clogged up spray jets inside the washer. Note this type of failure is fairly unusual, but I wanted to address it because you indicate that this is what you think is happening.
Neutralizers or acid rinses are required when any metal residue is present that can cause the formation of an insoluble metal hydroxide or oxide. As a generalization, you should use nonionic detergents. You need to use low or non foaming detergents in a washer. The most common low or non foaming detergents are nonionic.
Alconox, Inc manufactures several brands of detergents for under the counter machine washers, our customer recommendations for "http://www.alconox.com/static/section_customer/ind_lab.asp">Laboratory.
Alconox cleaners are available globally with consistent formulations and are GMP compliant. Downloadable certificates of analysis, technical bulletins, MSDS, trace analysis, and inhibitory residue testing are available from the Alconox website at Alconox.com.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Rinse Aids
Question:
What are rinse aids? Are rinse aids found in Solujet?
Answer:
There are basically three kinds of rinse aids:
1. Hydrophobic rinse aids that deposit on a substrate that repel the water off the surface, but leave themselves behind as a residue
2. Surfactants that wet surfaces and allow rinse water to sheet off a surface without leaving behind droplets that will cling and evaporate, potentially leaving water spots
3. Acid rinses that dissolve insoluble alkaline salt residues (typically calcium, magnesium and iron salts) that can be formed during the first alkaline cleaning cycle in a washer.
Alconox, Inc does not make any of the first type of rinse aid, because we are all about residue free cleaning. This type of rinse aid is what you get with household rinse aids available at the grocery store.
Solujet contains the second type of rinse aid denoted, surfactants that act as the second type of wetting and sheeting rinse aid.
Alconox does make an acid rinse aid, the third type listed known as Citrajet , which also contains wetting and sheeting rinse aids. If you are washing with tap water, especially water with high hardness, or if you have any heavy metals present on the substrates you are cleaning, you can greatly reduce water spots and hardness residues by using an acid rinse such as Citrajet.
Alconox cleaners are available globally with consistent formulations and are GMP compliant. Downloadable certificates of analysis, technical bulletins, MSDS, trace analysis, and inhibitory residue testing are available from the Alconox website at Alconox.com
What are rinse aids? Are rinse aids found in Solujet?
Answer:
There are basically three kinds of rinse aids:
1. Hydrophobic rinse aids that deposit on a substrate that repel the water off the surface, but leave themselves behind as a residue
2. Surfactants that wet surfaces and allow rinse water to sheet off a surface without leaving behind droplets that will cling and evaporate, potentially leaving water spots
3. Acid rinses that dissolve insoluble alkaline salt residues (typically calcium, magnesium and iron salts) that can be formed during the first alkaline cleaning cycle in a washer.
Alconox, Inc does not make any of the first type of rinse aid, because we are all about residue free cleaning. This type of rinse aid is what you get with household rinse aids available at the grocery store.
Solujet contains the second type of rinse aid denoted, surfactants that act as the second type of wetting and sheeting rinse aid.
Alconox does make an acid rinse aid, the third type listed known as Citrajet , which also contains wetting and sheeting rinse aids. If you are washing with tap water, especially water with high hardness, or if you have any heavy metals present on the substrates you are cleaning, you can greatly reduce water spots and hardness residues by using an acid rinse such as Citrajet.
Alconox cleaners are available globally with consistent formulations and are GMP compliant. Downloadable certificates of analysis, technical bulletins, MSDS, trace analysis, and inhibitory residue testing are available from the Alconox website at Alconox.com
Friday, July 17, 2009
Liquinox
Question:
Is Liquinox phosphate free cleaner filtered before bottling?
Answer:
Liquinox as sold in the standard package is filtered to 25 microns, but packaged in new but unwashed containers in an open air reasonably clean liquid detergent factory that is certainly not a clean room. We do not certify or test for particle content. You can reasonably expect fewer larger than 25 micron particles than an unfiltered liquid detergent. We know that the occasional bottle (anecdotally about 1 in 1,000 to 1 in 10,000) has visible particles in it which typically either trace to the bottle manufacturer or our manufacturing environment.
We do not offer a further filtered or controlled version of Liquinox. If something more filtered were required, on various occasions we have evaluated doing this. Relatively smaller quantities would best be packaged by an outside contract packager with clean room filtering and packing experience and capability. For high volume use, we in principle could consider doing this, although the volume and price would have to be sufficient to support investments of many hundreds of thousands of dollars. In the past when we have evaluated this, the final price for the filtered Liquinox was extremely high.
Most people today who require filtered Liquinox, filter it at the point of use rather than buying or manufacturing a filtered package.
Click here http://www.alconox.com/downloads/pdf/techbull_liquinox.pdf for Liquinox technical bulletin.
Alconox cleaners are available globally with consistent formulations and are GMP compliant. Downloadable certificates of analysis, technical bulletins, MSDS, trace analysis, and inhibitory residue testing are available from the Alconox website at Alconox.com.
Is Liquinox phosphate free cleaner filtered before bottling?
Answer:
Liquinox as sold in the standard package is filtered to 25 microns, but packaged in new but unwashed containers in an open air reasonably clean liquid detergent factory that is certainly not a clean room. We do not certify or test for particle content. You can reasonably expect fewer larger than 25 micron particles than an unfiltered liquid detergent. We know that the occasional bottle (anecdotally about 1 in 1,000 to 1 in 10,000) has visible particles in it which typically either trace to the bottle manufacturer or our manufacturing environment.
We do not offer a further filtered or controlled version of Liquinox. If something more filtered were required, on various occasions we have evaluated doing this. Relatively smaller quantities would best be packaged by an outside contract packager with clean room filtering and packing experience and capability. For high volume use, we in principle could consider doing this, although the volume and price would have to be sufficient to support investments of many hundreds of thousands of dollars. In the past when we have evaluated this, the final price for the filtered Liquinox was extremely high.
Most people today who require filtered Liquinox, filter it at the point of use rather than buying or manufacturing a filtered package.
Click here http://www.alconox.com/downloads/pdf/techbull_liquinox.pdf for Liquinox technical bulletin.
Alconox cleaners are available globally with consistent formulations and are GMP compliant. Downloadable certificates of analysis, technical bulletins, MSDS, trace analysis, and inhibitory residue testing are available from the Alconox website at Alconox.com.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Replace Chlorinated Solvents with Aqueous Cleaner
Question:
Can an aqueous cleaner or degreaser be used to replace chlorinated solvents? If so what Alconox brand is recommended?
Answer:
Chlorinated solvents clean by solvating residues. Many polar organic and inorganic residues are soluble in chlorinated solvents. The solvents are typically used in baths where the residue is dissolved in to the bath; or the solvents are used with rags or wipes where the residue is dissolved and transferred to the rag or wipe; or in some cases the solvents are used in vapor degreasers where the solvent condenses on to the substrate and drips off in to the tank carrying the residue with it. In all cases, you typically keep cleaning to the point where enough residue is removed and you are now left with clean enough solvent on the substrate. In effect, these solvents are self rinsing. Once cleaning and rinsing are completed, then the last of the solvent evaporates away to dryness.
Aqueous cleaners can quite easily be used to remove polar organic and inorganic residues. In fact depending on what cleaner is used, aqueous cleaners can additionally remove particulates, oxides and a range of non-polar and other organic residues that are not soluble in chlorinated solvents. The method of use and cleaning mechanisms for using aqueous cleaners are quite different from solvent cleaning. Aqueous cleaners work by emulsifying, dispersing, wetting, chelating, dissolving, and saponifying residues. The big difference is that aqueous cleaners need to be rinsed with water. Aqueous cleaners also benefit from using heat, whereas for safety reasons, you usually do not heat chlorinated solvents except in vapor degreasers. You typically need to change the cleaning procedures to switch from a chlorinated solvent to an aqueous cleaner.
If you were using soak tanks to clean with chlorinated solvent, you can typically use a soak tank with warm 1% Liquinox followed by a thorough water rinse to get comparable or better cleaning. If you are using a vapor degreaser, typically you would use a warm or hot 1% Liquinox solution in an ultrasonic tank followed by a thorough water rinse to get comparable or better cleaning. If you were using chlorinated solvents with rags, you can often use rags of warm 1% Liquinox to clean with, followed by whatever best rinse is practical using other rinse water rags or ideally a running water rinse. The kinds of residues that are best removed by chlorinated solvents can typically be readily removed by Liquinox.
One other key difference between aqueous cleaners and chlorinated solvents is that the rinse water used can cause rust on certain kinds of tool steel, mild steel and iron. Since Liquinox is a residue-free cleaner, there are no corrosion inhibiting residues that will survive the rinse process. Once the detergent is rinsed away, any dissolved oxygen in the rinse water can attack the steel and cause rust. Typically rusting will not occur during cleaning, but during rinsing. You can minimize and control any rusting by being sure to rinse with cool ambient temperature water and the drying promptly by a water removing process rather than a water evaporating process. Water removing drying processes include wiping, blowing off with air or gas jets, dipping in isopropanol or other drying solvents. On stainless steel, plastics, ceramics and most other substrates there are not corrosion concerns with mild aqueous cleaners like Liquinox.
Alconox cleaners are available globally with consistent formulations and are GMP compliant. Downloadable certificates of analysis, technical bulletins, MSDS, trace analysis, and inhibitory residue testing are available from the Alconox website at Alconox.com.
Can an aqueous cleaner or degreaser be used to replace chlorinated solvents? If so what Alconox brand is recommended?
Answer:
Chlorinated solvents clean by solvating residues. Many polar organic and inorganic residues are soluble in chlorinated solvents. The solvents are typically used in baths where the residue is dissolved in to the bath; or the solvents are used with rags or wipes where the residue is dissolved and transferred to the rag or wipe; or in some cases the solvents are used in vapor degreasers where the solvent condenses on to the substrate and drips off in to the tank carrying the residue with it. In all cases, you typically keep cleaning to the point where enough residue is removed and you are now left with clean enough solvent on the substrate. In effect, these solvents are self rinsing. Once cleaning and rinsing are completed, then the last of the solvent evaporates away to dryness.
Aqueous cleaners can quite easily be used to remove polar organic and inorganic residues. In fact depending on what cleaner is used, aqueous cleaners can additionally remove particulates, oxides and a range of non-polar and other organic residues that are not soluble in chlorinated solvents. The method of use and cleaning mechanisms for using aqueous cleaners are quite different from solvent cleaning. Aqueous cleaners work by emulsifying, dispersing, wetting, chelating, dissolving, and saponifying residues. The big difference is that aqueous cleaners need to be rinsed with water. Aqueous cleaners also benefit from using heat, whereas for safety reasons, you usually do not heat chlorinated solvents except in vapor degreasers. You typically need to change the cleaning procedures to switch from a chlorinated solvent to an aqueous cleaner.
If you were using soak tanks to clean with chlorinated solvent, you can typically use a soak tank with warm 1% Liquinox followed by a thorough water rinse to get comparable or better cleaning. If you are using a vapor degreaser, typically you would use a warm or hot 1% Liquinox solution in an ultrasonic tank followed by a thorough water rinse to get comparable or better cleaning. If you were using chlorinated solvents with rags, you can often use rags of warm 1% Liquinox to clean with, followed by whatever best rinse is practical using other rinse water rags or ideally a running water rinse. The kinds of residues that are best removed by chlorinated solvents can typically be readily removed by Liquinox.
One other key difference between aqueous cleaners and chlorinated solvents is that the rinse water used can cause rust on certain kinds of tool steel, mild steel and iron. Since Liquinox is a residue-free cleaner, there are no corrosion inhibiting residues that will survive the rinse process. Once the detergent is rinsed away, any dissolved oxygen in the rinse water can attack the steel and cause rust. Typically rusting will not occur during cleaning, but during rinsing. You can minimize and control any rusting by being sure to rinse with cool ambient temperature water and the drying promptly by a water removing process rather than a water evaporating process. Water removing drying processes include wiping, blowing off with air or gas jets, dipping in isopropanol or other drying solvents. On stainless steel, plastics, ceramics and most other substrates there are not corrosion concerns with mild aqueous cleaners like Liquinox.
Alconox cleaners are available globally with consistent formulations and are GMP compliant. Downloadable certificates of analysis, technical bulletins, MSDS, trace analysis, and inhibitory residue testing are available from the Alconox website at Alconox.com.
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
Medical Device Cleaning
Question:
What is the most common cleaning technique used in medical device manufacturing?
Answer:
The most common cleaning technique in medical device manufacturing is to use heated ultrasonics followed by suitable purity of water rinsing. Depending on the types of residues, sometimes an alkaline clean is used first to remove all oily residues, followed by a brief rinse to prevent dragout and then an acid cleaner to remove alkaline insoluble inorganic residues. This two step cleaning is then followed by a thorough rinse.
The critical cleaning experts at Alconox, Inc have specially formulated brands for this two step process: Liquinox, an alkaline cleaner, followed by Citranox, an acid cleaner. These brands are fast acting and penetrating ultrasonic cleaners that rinse away residue free.
Alconox cleaners are available globally with consistent formulations and are GMP compliant. Downloadable certificates of analysis, technical bulletins, MSDS, trace analysis, and inhibitory residue testing are available from the Alconox website at Alconox.com. For biocompatibility & toxicity data, shelf life information, residue sampling techniques, validation information and ingredient disclosure please contact validation support.
What is the most common cleaning technique used in medical device manufacturing?
Answer:
The most common cleaning technique in medical device manufacturing is to use heated ultrasonics followed by suitable purity of water rinsing. Depending on the types of residues, sometimes an alkaline clean is used first to remove all oily residues, followed by a brief rinse to prevent dragout and then an acid cleaner to remove alkaline insoluble inorganic residues. This two step cleaning is then followed by a thorough rinse.
The critical cleaning experts at Alconox, Inc have specially formulated brands for this two step process: Liquinox, an alkaline cleaner, followed by Citranox, an acid cleaner. These brands are fast acting and penetrating ultrasonic cleaners that rinse away residue free.
Alconox cleaners are available globally with consistent formulations and are GMP compliant. Downloadable certificates of analysis, technical bulletins, MSDS, trace analysis, and inhibitory residue testing are available from the Alconox website at Alconox.com. For biocompatibility & toxicity data, shelf life information, residue sampling techniques, validation information and ingredient disclosure please contact validation support.
Thursday, July 02, 2009
Agitation and cleaning
Question:
What important parameters need to be considered when selecting a cleaning method and detergent?
Answer:
Time constraints and volume of parts being cleaned affect choice of cleaning method and with it detergent. When a large number of parts must be cleaned quickly, then a fast, high-agitation method, such as spray washing, with an aggressive cleaner is preferable. Likewise, when cleaning fewer parts or batch-continuous quantities of smaller batches rather than the large quantities from continuous manufacturing of parts, ultrasonic soak cleaning with a milder cleaner is more appropriate for the wetting and emulsifying mechanisms.
Alconox, Inc has both high emulsifying and low foaming cleaners for your selected cleaning method. We also offer alkaline to acidic cleaners to target a range of residues. Sizes of liquid and powder detergents range from single unit (gal or 4 lbs box) to large bulk sizes (55 gal or 300 lbs drums).
Visit Alconox.com to find an appropriate cleaner.
What important parameters need to be considered when selecting a cleaning method and detergent?
Answer:
Time constraints and volume of parts being cleaned affect choice of cleaning method and with it detergent. When a large number of parts must be cleaned quickly, then a fast, high-agitation method, such as spray washing, with an aggressive cleaner is preferable. Likewise, when cleaning fewer parts or batch-continuous quantities of smaller batches rather than the large quantities from continuous manufacturing of parts, ultrasonic soak cleaning with a milder cleaner is more appropriate for the wetting and emulsifying mechanisms.
Alconox, Inc has both high emulsifying and low foaming cleaners for your selected cleaning method. We also offer alkaline to acidic cleaners to target a range of residues. Sizes of liquid and powder detergents range from single unit (gal or 4 lbs box) to large bulk sizes (55 gal or 300 lbs drums).
Visit Alconox.com to find an appropriate cleaner.