What is Freeze Drying?

Freeze drying, or lyophilisation, is a process that removes the solvent  from a sample. It is most commonly used for pharmaceuticals and for foodstuffs, to increase the shelf life of the product. However freeze drying has many other applications including:

• Management of labile or reactive properties of molecules such as laboratory reagents
• Preservation of biological activity in enzymes and biological agents such as proteins and DNA
• Preservation of cells as an alternative to cold / frozen storage
• Concentration of materials so as to enable recovery from dilute samples

Different applications and products have different processing requirements. Consequently there is a variety of equipment available with a range of options and accessories. Early consideration of a few key questions can help ensure that the system purchased is the right one for the application.

Throughout this year we will be looking at the range of freeze drying equipment available and discussing how best to approach the purchasing process to ensure you get the right system for your application.

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