In the pharmaceutical industry, proper execution of unbroken cold chains can be vitally important. There are many drugs and medications that must be maintained at particular temperatures in order to retain their maximum effectiveness. In storage this is not difficult, but it becomes an issue when transporting such pharmaceuticals to their intended destinations. For example, transporting vaccines to high temperature areas via poorly developed transportation networks can, if not done properly, render them useless. For this reason having the right equipment for your cold chain is vitally important. And today one of the must-haves for effective cold chain logistics is the Timestrip line of time and temperature indicators.
Timestrip makes small compact indicators with temperature sensitive labels that help you keep your temperature controlled transport needs under control. Their line includes four different types of time indicators: Timestrip, TimestripPlus, TimestripMinus and the brand new Timestrip Complete. Timestrip, the first product developed by this company, is a simple indicator that measures elapsed time. For temperature breaches, the Timestrip Plus indicator measures ascending temperature and the Timestrip Minus measures descending temperature. The Timestrip Complete combines both of these features.
Timestrip’s indicators depend on a patent-protected process involving the migration of a dye along a membrane. The indicators are completely inert prior to activation and are stored and shipped at room temperature, which makes them extremely cost effective compared to other cold chain technologies for products that require handling at very specific temperatures. Once the indicator is activated, it begins the measurement and elapsed time or temperature breaches are displayed clearly on its surface. Once activated, these indicators cannot be stopped or turned, making the entire process tamper proof.
The temperature breach indicators TimestripPlus and TimestripMinus are both exceedingly popular in the market. Not only do they tell you that a temperature breach has occurred, but also for how long the product was exposed to unhealthy temperatures. In the case of multiple temperature breaches, they will tell you the duration of each individual breach, as well as the cumulative duration of them all. They are highly accurate and come tailored to a variety of temperature thresholds, so you can choose the best option for the product you need to transport.
Chilled products with thresholds of 5°C, 12°C, 18°C and 23°C and frozen products with thresholds of 0°C and -14°C are all serviceable by the TimestripPlus, while the TimestripMinus is tailored to measure temperature breaches below a threshold of 2°C. And the brand new, groundbreaking Timestrip Complete combines the best of both by measuring temperature breaches outside a given range, both ascending and descending, in order to service the 2–8°C cold chain requirements which are among the most common and that are vital to the pharmaceutical industry. It provides complete, true 2–8°C temperature monitoring in a single product for the first time in the history of the industry.
Other benefits of Timestrip indicators include that they are water resistant, can be stored and shipped at any temperature, are environmentally friendly, have a long shelf life and are extremely cost effective. Whatever you’re pharma transport needs, if you need to keep a close eye on your shipped products, Timestrip UK Limited are definitely the go-to guys for the job.