Lyostat2

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Lyostat2

• Second Generation
• Freeze-Drying Microscope

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Lyostat2
Lyostat2 was developed by Biopharma Technology
Ltd to provide a rational scientific basis for
freeze-drying cycle development. The Lyostat2
combined with BTLs extensive experience in the
freeze-drying industry provides a powerful tool
for freeze-drying RD Scientists
Biopharma Technology Ltd has used Lyostat2 to
analyse over 500 different formulations, from
small drug molecules to large complex
biomolecules for biopharmaceutical companies
worldwide
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Freeze-drying Microscopy

• Enables real-time observation of the behaviour of
  your formulation during freeze-drying
• Obtains vital information on the critical
  temperatures of your product relevant to
  freeze-drying

• Enables you to develop a freeze-drying cycle
  specific to the requirements of your product that
  is both safe and efficient

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Benefits of Using Lyostat2

• Can help improve old formulations and develop new
  ones.
• Provides essential data to develop cycles on a
  rational basis.
• Can save valuable development time and money,
  with rapid determination of collapse, melting and
  eutectic melt temperatures
• Allows image capture and data archiving for
  future reference
• Only 1-2µl of sample material is required to
  determine the key parameters

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Lyostat2 System Components
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System Components
Lyostat2 Freeze-Drying Cryostage

• Temperature range -196C to 125C
• Up to 130C per min heating/cooling rates
• Silver heating block for high thermal
  conductivity

Innovative New Imaging Station

• Purpose Built
• Small benchtop footprint
• Provides higher resolution than conventional
  compound microscopes
• Tilting lens and camera allowing easy sample
  loading

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System Components
Temperature Control System
Temperature is controlled by carefully balancing
heat input from a heating element and the precise
control of liquid nitrogen through the silver
block
Temperature is measured to 0.01C by a Pt100
thermal resistor mounted close to the sample and
controlled to 0.1C down to pressures as low as
10-3mbar.
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System Components
High Performance Digital Firewire Camera
Dedicated Digital Image Capture Software
Displays real-time temperature and pressure
information and allows the user to have full
control of the rate of heating, limit and hold
time of up to 100 ramps within the temperature
profile. Image capture is integrated with
temperature programmer data capture. Images can
be loaded into a gallery of either 2,4,8,16 or 32
images, for closer inspection.
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System Components
Vacuum Gauge
Vacuum Pump
Optional Motorised Vacuum Control System

• Software controlled motorized valve that controls
  the pressure inside the freeze drying chamber,
  enabling close investigation of the effects of
  pressure on sample collapse.
• Displays pressure Torr, mTorr, mBar and Pa
• Chamber pressure plotted with temperature against
  time and can be saved for later analysis.

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Assay Procedure

• Unscrew lid and side door
• Place sample holder on block and close door
• Place drop of silicone oil on block
• Place quartz slide into the sample holder
• Place spacer ring onto the quartz slide
• Pipette 1µl of sample onto the quartz slide
• Place a smaller cover slip on top of the spacer
  ring

Sample Block
Stage Lid
Sample Holder
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Assay Procedure
Sample Loading
Glass cover slip (13 mm dia.)
Objective Lens (usually 10x)
Metal Spacer (70µm thick)
2µl of sample
Quartz cover slip (16 mm dia.)
Drop of silicone oil for low temperature
lubrication
Sample Holder
Temperature-Controlled Block
Aperture
Light Source (from below)
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Assay Procedure
Software Main Screen
Temperature Control
Image Capture Control
Real-time video
Vacuum Control

Temperature and Pressure Plot
Temperature profile
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Assay Procedure
Freezing

• Once the sample is loaded onto the stage it can
  be viewed in real-time on the computer screen
• Program your freezing temperature and initiate
  the pump with one click

• When your freezing temperature is attained it can
  be held to ensure complete freezing
• Turn on the vacuum pump to begin drying the sample

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Assay Procedure

• Software

Drying Amorphous Product
When drying, the sublimation front will move from
one side of the sample to the other. In front of
it will be the frozen material and behind will be
the dried material The collapse temperature (Tc)
is obtained by gradually increasing the
temperature until product collapse is observed
Frozen Amorphous Material
Movement of sublimation Front
Sublimation Front
Dried Amorphous Material
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Assay Procedure

• Software

Drying Amorphous Product
Raising the temperature above the Tc of the
sample will cause it to undergo collapse A
precise Tc can be found by going back and viewing
the images recorded during the analytical run For
crystalline products the same method is applied
but a eutectic temperature (Teu) is obtained
instead
Frozen Amorphous Material
Collapsed Material
Dried Amorphous Material
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Assay Procedure
Drying - Crystalline Product
Sublimation Front
Eutectic melt of material at interface
Increasing Temperature
Frozen Crystalline Material
Dried Crystalline Material
Change in gross morphology of frozen phase to
give more liquid appearance
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Crust Formation
Image of a solution showing evidence of crust
formation
The black line around the edge of the sample is
an area of higher solute concentration that
impedes the vapour flow and prevents drying
When the crust ruptures the sample will dry from
the site of the break. In this case the
temperature had been raised above the sample Tc
and so shows evidence of collapse
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Micro-collapse
Image of a 2 Mannitol 1 Glucose solution
drying under vacuum at -41.8C, around the Tc of
Glucose
Frozen material
Movement of sublimation front
Glucose collapses within mannitol structure
Mannitol retains structure
Dried material
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Results Data
Data Overview
Create Movie
View Pictures
This file contains all the information from the
analytical run From here you can view the
pictures recorded in a gallery or put them
together to create a movie (avi format) The graph
shows the temperature and pressure throughout the
procedure
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Results Data
Data Overview
Each point on the purple image line represents a
single image which can be viewed by selecting it
with the cursor The single image view enables the
user, once calibrated, to draw lines and a size
bar to measure between points of interest on the
image (eg. Ice crystal size) The bottom of the
image displays useful information concerning the
image and the entire run such as date, time,
sample name, temperature and much more
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Results Data
Image Gallery
Gallery Navigation
Zoom
Image Number
The gallery view enables fast sorting of images,
showing how the drying progresses across a longer
timeframe For larger images the gallery can be
viewed showing less images 32, 16, 8, 4 and 2
are available
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Problem Solved
Trial and Error Cycle resulting in loss of
product or costly inefficient cycle
New cycle based on actual parameters
Determination of critical temperatures
Lyostat2 provides you with essential information
on the critical temperatures of your formulation,
enabling you to get the best results from your
product
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10 years at the forefront of freeze-drying
technology
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