News for Leica EM RAPID
New Milling System for Pharmaceutical Research
05 July 2007
The Leica EM RAPID offers variable milling speeds for pharmaceutical research.
Leica EM RAPID Enables Analysis of Active Ingredient Distribution in Solid-dose Pharmaceuticals
Vienna, Austria. In the development new medications, the distribution of active ingredients within a tablet plays an important role in their effectiveness. With the new Leica EM RAPID milling system, tablets can be prepared for quantitative NIR (near-infrared) spectroscopy quickly and with maximum precision. High-performance tungsten carbide or diamond milling tools decapsulate and mill without smearing effects from the outer capsule layer.
Milling in Layers at the Touch of a Button
Specially adapted to the requirements of pharmaceutical research, the Leica EM RAPID offers variable milling speeds. The speed can be continuously adjusted to prevent the fragile cutting surfaces of tablets from being destroyed. To analyze active ingredients in various layers of the medication, the specimen can be milled in defined increments of 0.5 to 100mm. The instrument automatically performs sequential trimming of uniformly thick layers using the auto-feed function – there is no need to operate the hand wheel. Using the pivoted specimen arm, any inclination angle up to 60° can be selected for milling. In addition to the "milling view" and "front view" specimen arm positions, the Leica EM RAPID also offers the "90° to specimen axis" view. The optimized stability of the instrument prevents vibration and ensures ideal surface quality.
Everything under Control
The display shows the total feed and all of the instrument's settings at a glance. The user can follow every detail of milling using the integrated microscope, which is equipped with an LED illumination ring. Multiple pill holders for glass slides or individual pill holders shorten machining times before NIR analysis. Leica Microsystems offers an optimized extraction system for the Leica EM RAPID that provides a safer and more pleasant working atmosphere. The module works very quietly, and its HEPA filter catches even the smallest particles.