Vial at It, Let’s Learn About Some Commonly Used Terminologies

The world of vials is cylindrical, transparent at most, capped and slender and shaded in the amazing of the blue and amber.

And for anyone wanting to be a part of this world, for them knowing the vial lingo, is imperatively important.

Pharmacists, the to-be-scientists, chemists and all those business owners who deal with vials on a regular basis – this post is for you.

Let’s walk through the commonly used terms in the vial industry, so that the next time you go out to buy a vial or use them, and hear your peers and colleagues mention all those difficult-to-understand jargons, you’ll be able to better relate with the world of vials.

Coefficient of Expansion

Abbreviated as COE, it is basically a quality factor in the manufacturing of vials. It describes how the size of a vial changes with a change in temperature. This change in size can be measured in terms of:

The area of a vial (area thermal expansion coefficient);

Volume of a vial (coefficient of volumetric expansion);

And length of a vial (linear coefficient of expansion).

What gives a vial its coefficient of expansion?

The COE of a vial depends on the material from which it is made.

In the vial industry, linear coefficient of expansion is the most important metric out of all the other types of coefficient of expansions when it comes to assessing the suitability of a vial for a particular application.

The higher the linear coefficient of expansion is for a vial, the greater the change in length it undergoes with variations in temperature.

Type 1

Type 1 is a term used to describe the classification of a vial. Other types of glass vials are Type 2 and Type 3.

Type 1 glass vial is the preferred vial for use in laboratory settings and in pharmaceutical industry because of its overall superior performance aspects. These types of vials are made from borosilicate glass and can be amber or clear in appearance.

Borosilicate Glass

Borosilicate glass is a type of glass used in the manufacturing of Type 1 glass vials. It’s primary manufacturing constituents include silica and 5% boric oxide. Boric oxide helps make borosilicate glass vials more tolerant to corrosion and higher temperatures.

Why borosilicate glass is used in the manufacturing of Type 1 glass vial and not some other type of glass?

That’s because borosilicate glass features lower pH shifts, high stability even at temperatures above 100°C and provide greater resistance against organic compounds and acids that confer Type 1 glass vial its superior performance in laboratory and pharmaceutical settings.

Clear Glass Vials

Clear glass vials, as the name suggests, are transparent glass vials.

Amber Glass Vials

Amber glass vials are brown in color. The reason that they are dark brown in color is to protect its stored constituents from UV light degradation.

With that, we come to the end of this post.

Congratulations, you are now a Premium Vials certified vial linguist.

And vial we are at the subject of vials, check out our expansive inventory of premium quality vials, manufactured for use in cosmetic, industrial, laboratory and personal care applications. We have glass vial with dropper, amber vial, clear glass vials and even blue glass vials – all made from borosilicate glass. Shop at your convenience!