Photostability Light Measurement Systems

Photostability light measurements are required in the pharmaceutical industry (and many other industries) to characterize the effects of light on the degradation (photo-degradation) and efficacy of their products.

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Light, for all of its positive effects, can wreak havoc in certain industries

Light grows food, provides warmth, allows sight, and keeps us safe in the dark. It provides mood and atmosphere, enhancing or even changing both with simple changes in color or intensity. Light is truly one of the positive forces in the universe, but like all positive forces, too much of a good thing can be bad.

Direct human exposure hazards aside, over-exposure to light for certain materials and chemicals can cause disastrous changes in their physical and chemical properties leading to product damage, reduced efficacy, hazardous interactions, or some combination of the three.

In certain applications, where use of photosensitive substances is heavy, continuous testing for photostability, or how resistant a substance is to change from light exposure, is performed to maintain product quality or safety.

Photostability testing helps maintain product quality and safety

Photostability testing is typically done under controlled conditions, often in a sealed chamber where exact exposure levels to the spectra of light a product is likely to encounter, can be delivered for precise analysis of the effects.

The light levels used in photostability testing are generally high enough to accelerate hours, days, weeks, months, or even years worth of light exposure down to seconds, minutes, or hours in the testing chamber.

Monitoring of the exposure levels is critical and is either done by built-in measurement equipment within the chamber or by external instrumentation. This type of exact, accelerated, laboratory-level photostability testing is typical for the pharmaceutical, paint, ink, and dye manufacturing industries among others.

Visible light and UVA are the prime spectra of concern due to the abundance of both types in sunlight and typical indoor lighting which are the most likely light sources to be encountered by these photo-sensitive products when in use or in-situ.

Similar testing can also be used in the preservation of delicate objects such as museum artwork where the photo-sensitive inks and pigments used will degrade with exposure to light, causing costly or even irreparable damage. In these cases the exposure of the object to any light source is not desirable, but unfortunately necessary for viewing, and so must be carefully monitored and controlled to prevent damage.

Measurement of the light source exposure levels on the object is crucial in developing and maintaining protective measures to combat photodegradation such as UV blocking windows and films, visible light reduction filters, and scheduled viewing light programs.

Photostability light measurement solutions

As concern grows about the negative effects of light exposure on photo-sensitive objects and substances, so too does the demand for highly accurate and repeatable measurements.

International Light Technologies maintains a line of accurate and economical light measurement instrumentation designed for the most demanding Photostability applications.