
Silica Gel Canister for Pharma Industries in 6 Easy Steps
The canisters are the most miniature HDPE containers filled with silica gel, molecular sieves, or carbon and even their combinations. The material of these canisters is food-grade approved and DMF grade with 21 CFR & EU compliance. However, depending on the nature of the product and its use, the type of canisters and the capacity required varies.
The desiccant helps to retain the product's freshness and keeps it free from any damage due to temperature changes. Products like pharmaceuticals and vitamins are exposed to moisture, the risk of shortening their typical shelf-life. The canisters are widely preferred in the pharmaceutical industry, because of the rigid design they are ideal for automatic and high-speed insertion in pharmaceutical packaging.
The material used in manufacturing the canisters meets all the standards for direct contact with food and drugs. The canister's distinctive shape differentiates them from tablets and capsules, preventing accidental ingestion.
The unique shape and size of the silica gel desiccant canisters can vary according to the requirements of different moisture solutions. They are available in two different types of labelled and printed, ranging from 0.5 gm to 3 gm. Silica gel canisters ensure the product's integrity, offering 100% quality control. However, the distinctive nature of the desiccant canisters safeguards the pharmaceutical tablets, capsules and other essentials.
6 easy steps:
- Silica gel canisters are considered the foremost option in pharmaceutical packaging companies.
- Silica gel is an effective drying agent, suitable for various products and canisters best for medicines.
- The canisters are non-toxic and flexible to use with different medicines and food products.
- It gradually increases the shelf-life of the medicines and is also the reason for retaining the freshness and effectiveness of the product.
- It has successfully undergone all the FDA standards; it can be used in close contact with any food and pharmaceutical item.
- The silica gel canisters are small and cylindrical shaped, which can be quickly filled in any size or shape of a container.
The Important Role Desiccant Canisters Play in the Pharmaceutical Industry
In the pharmaceutical sector, packaging with desiccant canisters plays a crucial role. Most pharmaceutical and nutraceutical packaging companies generally opt for desiccant canisters, whether dental, herbal, diagnostic or veterinary. During the packaging process, the canisters are inserted into the bottles and containers, to ensure that the product is not affected by moisture, mildew and micro-organisms.
The presence of moisture in the pharma bottles and containers adversely affects the medicines' quality and efficacy. In some cases, moisture can also cause irreversible chemical and physical changes and be poisonous. Thus, this is the reason why most pharmaceutical packaging companies prefer to use desiccant canisters. They protect the medicines from excess moisture and humidity reactions.
Why only desiccant canisters? The canisters have a high capacity and speed for adsorbing moisture and preventing humidity. Therefore, just because of this feature, they have been the best option for medicines for the past few years.
The desiccant canisters are small and cylindrical shaped, stuffed with highly active drying agents. The unique design of the canister allows it to insert in a smaller space. They have tiny holes, through which the moisture inside the bottles and containers is adsorbed. Canisters can be used continuously with packed pharmaceutical products.

Pharma desiccants: how to use and what they do?
Pharma desiccants are majorly used in the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries. The desiccants play a crucial role in the packaging of pharma products. They effectively absorb the extra moisture inside the closed containers and keep the products dry.
The desiccants come packed in small white packets inside the containers. They absorb moisture, maintain the product's quality, and extend its shelf life. The packets always have strict instructions: "Do not eat." Consumers should always follow this for their safety.
Desiccants are commonly found in products, from shoeboxes to medicine bottles. These small packets are filled with a wide range of substances like silica gel, activated carbon, molecular sieves, and clay. Within these, silica gel desiccants are most commonly used and preferred by the pharma industries.
What do they do?
In the pharma industry, desiccants are used for dental, diagnostic, herbal, nutritional, and even veterinary packaging. While packaging, the desiccants are inserted into the containers. This ensures that moisture doesn't impact the products.
The desiccants are commonly used to keep the products dry and stable. They absorb moisture from the air and even reduce the humidity on the surface of the sealed containers. It is very important to control moisture from pharmaceutical products because moisture can spoil the medicines, but also, in many cases, it can bring irreversible physical and chemical changes. Thus, because of the same reason, many pharmaceutical industries have started using pharma desiccants to get prevention from moisture and humidity. These are usually inserted in the form of canisters into the packaging lines to ensure that the medicines and other pharma products are not affected by moisture, mildew, and mould.
How are the pharma desiccants used?
By maintaining the dryness and the quality of the products, the desiccants extend the shelf life and efficacy of pharmaceutical and nutraceutical products by preventing moisture damage.
Desiccants work on the principle of adsorbing moisture from the air. It is known to be an agent that works on the mechanism of multiple adsorption layers, attracting the thin layers of moisture molecules from the air to the desiccant surfaces. It avoids chemical reactions with water and other dissolving chemicals. Many manufacturers use desiccants to prevent chemical hydrates from forming in the chemical industry. The desiccants also remove the moisture from the gas streams and solvents.
These highly effective desiccants are most commonly used for products that can be damaged due to moisture. If moisture is trapped for a long time, it can cause the degradation of materials like electronics, food, clothing, and medicines. For this reason, desiccants are used during the packaging and storage of products.
The desiccants packs contain small interconnected channels that open into pores on the surface that can absorb moisture from the product without altering their structure. The higher the moisture content, the higher the adsorption capacity.
Utility of desiccant products:
- Transportation of goods: The desiccants are very important for the packaging process while shipping products. These work like drying agents.
- Activated carbon desiccants: Carbon is always appreciated for extracting impurities from the air and leaves the atmosphere clean and hygienic. It also eliminates the foul smell from the enclosed areas. E.g., garages, basements, etc.
- Natural desiccants: The most commonly used natural desiccant is rice, used in commercial areas and to protect domestic goods.
- Preserve chemicals: desiccants are effectively used for storing the chemicals. The desiccants absorb the moisture and keep them dry. Few chemicals can form compounds when they come in contact with moisture.
Few important factors to keep in mind before selecting a desiccant:
- Type of container or package for the pharma products
- The volume of the containers
- The rate of absorption required
- The climate
- Cost-effectiveness of the desiccants
- RH levels
Applications:
- Healthcare
- Fashion
- Electronics
Sorbead India is well known for manufacturing and supplying high-quality and the best pharma desiccants. Pharma desiccants like pillow pak, unit pak, consider, tablets, Humidity Indicating cards, Montmorillonite clay, and Activated Carbon Desiccant. Various desiccants are available, including silica gel, activated carbon, and molecular sieves.
We supply desiccant pillow pak of 'Desiccare Inc.' used in different industries. The pillow paks are generally filled with molecular sieve beads, silica gel clay, and activated carbon desiccants. USFDA standards approve all the materials used for manufacturing the paks. We also offer pillow paks in bulk quantity packaged in 1-gallon can or 10-gallon container.
Our high-quality unit paks are exported worldwide to offer the best adsorption solution to various packaging products used in different industries. The FDA standards approve the unit paks, and they also prolong the life of the products.
We also offer a complete line of pharma-grade desiccant canisters manufactured by SLACK. These are used for absorbing moisture, odour, and gas from packed products. We manufacture other desiccants like the desiccant tablets. These tablets control the moisture and humidity inside the packed pharmaceutical tablets and capsules. They work effectively in removing moisture from the surface of the containers and bottles while packaging.

Moisture is the biggest enemy of any sensitive product, like metal or electronic items. So, to ensure the products safety of the products, it is important to check the atmospheric conditions of the place where the product has to be stored. This is not only the best rather the cheapest way to know about the atmospheric humidity. Moisture is not the only time when the product has moisture danger. Even while transporting, any item can easily come in contact with atmospheric moisture, and many lose their originality. There are various products in the market which help to absorb moisture from the environment. But how may someone know which desiccant to use in different humidity situations? Check the atmospheric humidity with humidity indicator cards and then use the appropriate desiccant.
Now, the question arises what are the indicator cards made up of, which makes them so efficient that they can analyze the amount of humidity in the atmosphere. The cards have a layer of cobalt chloride solution mixed carefully to change their colour from blue to various shades of magenta, red to pink. These cards are not made to indicate the exact amount of moisture in the environment. Still, they can efficiently tell the range of maximum possibility of humidity present in the container. For example, if a card indicates 10%- 60% of moisture if the dots' colours are deep blue, then you can be sure that the humidity is below 10%. It is very important for many products that the humidity level stays below 40% because the basic corrosion or rusting activity will never happen in this range.
These humidity indicating cards are used for various purposes like storing your wedding dress heirloom, electronic items, computer products, old photographs, personal items and many more. Apart from this, it is also used to store optical instruments, bilk packaging and preserve sensitive components. It is also used in bulk to pack dry products like various semiconductors and electronic items. The advantage of using this humidity indicator card is that it is very easy and a fast moisture monitoring tool. If required, it can also be customized. There are two types of humidity indicating cards cobalt-free cards and cobalt cards. Both people mostly use cobalt cards because of their moisture indicating technique is more appropriate and accurate.

Whether pharmaceutical, electronic, or food, any product can be badly affected by moisture. When any of the products is preserved or stored, the chances of being affected by moisture increase. With the help of desiccant canisters, the life of the products can be increased as the canisters help prevent packaging moisture. Desiccant canisters are mostly used in the pharmaceutical industry to package bottles and tablets. It has a very high capacity and speed for adsorbing moisture, and just because of this feature, they are the best option to be used with any food items or medicine. Apart from the silica gel, various canisters use various materials, like activated carbon and molecular sieves. These desiccants can control moisture and help control rust, mold, and any other type of deterioration activities that occur due to moisture.
Among all, silica gel canisters are considered the best option to be used, especially in the case of the pharmaceutical industry. It increases the lifespan of the product and is also the reason to retain the freshness and effectiveness of the item by keeping the packaging environment dry. The best thing about the desiccant canisters is that they are nontoxic, and thus this makes them flexible even to use with the food items. Whenever you choose a company for buying a desiccant canister, it is necessary to check if the company follows FDA standards in manufacturing the product. If it has successfully undergone all the FDA standards, it can be used in close contact with any food and pharmaceutical item. There are unique shapes and sizes of desiccating canisters available on the market. It is available in sizes starting from 0.5 to 3 grams.
With the help of these canisters, products can be given a controlled and packed environment that requires moisture controlled and odour free environment. The packaging platform can be customized according to the requirement and needs of the customers. When silica gel or desiccant clay is used in canisters, it is used for absorbing moisture. In contrast, Molecular sieves and activated carbon are used to adsorb gaseous activities like odour control. These desiccants are small and cylindrical can containers stuffed with highly active desiccant agents. The special design of these canisters allows them to be inserted and used continuously with packed pharmaceutical products. There are several sizes and variants available on the market for these canisters from which you can choose according to your requirements.
A somewhat similar concept to the desiccant canister, which is also available in various products and sizes and is provided by Sorbead India. There are various benefits of using these desiccant canisters or capsules that is it has a very effective adsorption rate, which helps in providing a moisture and odour free environment to the product. Sorbead India provides canisters at very cheap prices with flawless quality.

What is the MVTR Testing?
MVTR is the acronym used for Moisture Vapor Transmission Rate. This is the rate used to measure the passage or permeance of water vapor through a substance. Moisture control remains a major topic when it comes to packaging in the pharmaceutical industry. The extent of damage moisture interference can cause is adverse and irreversible.
Every substance permeates water vapor. But if how much is the question, then it can be only depicted by the MVTR value. Pharmaceutical industries have to make sure that their blister packaging is well built to protect the medicines from moisture content. To test that they will verify if the MVTR value of their packaging meets the USP standards or not.
Desiccant tablets are used to measure the MVTR of these pharmaceutical packages.
What are desiccant tablets?
These are desiccants in the form of small tablets. Desiccant tablets are used in controlling moisture content from pharmaceutical tablets and capsules. The desiccants are best suitable for blister packaging that will prevent moisture from invading inside the tablet. Being available in tiny shapes and sizes, they fit in easily in these packages even during the manufacturing process. Desiccant tablets are also used in nutraceuticals, medical diagnostics, military, and electronics.
Advantage of desiccant tablets:
- High performance
- Requires no additional space
- Act as an individual adsorption device
Use of desiccant tablets for MVTR testing
Desiccant tablets being compact are extremely useful in understanding the permeance of these pharmaceutical packaging. These high-quality desiccant tablets are placed individually or as a whole over inside the blister packaging spaces. Later on, after a given period, these desiccant tablets are taken to test and verify the moisture vapor transmission rate that is allowed as per the given standard for the particular packaging. In this way, pharmaceutical packaging companies can make sure their packaging meet all the standard and keep the products safe from any kind of moisture interventions.
Sorbead India is one of the prime desiccant capsules and tablets manufacturers and suppliers who serve their clients across the world with the best quality products. Being the finest desiccant supplier in the industry, Sorbead India has rendered their products in food, electronics, agriculture, military, aerospace, automobile parts, nutraceuticals, and pharmaceutical industries.

Sorbead India is well known for its high-quality absorbers and desiccants. Its Desiccant pillow packs consist of a wide variety of sizes, configurations, and substrates. These can be used to absorb moisture vapor, odor and gas according to your desire. We also provide custom blends that can be used as a multifunction package. The multi-function packs absorb two or more unwanted substances from the container. They are available in a wide range of different sizes of ¼, ½, ¾, 1, 1 ½, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 10, 12 or 14 grams. The different materials used for desiccant material silica gel, indicating silica gel, clay, molecular sieve and carbon packed in Tyvek, non-woven or clear view desiccant Packs.
They are used to absorb moisture from 1 gallon can or 10-gallon containers. Desiccant pillow packs are used in pharmaceutical, electronics, diagnostic kits, foods, clothing, powders, vitamins, consumer products, and parts industries to extend the shelf life of the products by absorbing all the moisture and keeping a balance in humidity. Our pillow packs meet FDA and USDA standards and are used in a variety of package applications. These desiccant pouches are also used for the dehumidifier process using a molecular sieve and silica gel packets.
We are prominent manufacturers, suppliers, and exporters of superior quality desiccant pillow packs. These pillow packs are ideal for use in both industries and households for protection from moisture. Desiccant Pillow Pack supplied as per the international standards USFDA ensures high durability and good quality. They have high absorbent capacity for humidity and easily protect containers from moisture damage while goods are in transit. They are also environment-friendly, non-corrosive, and non-toxic and can be disposed of off like any normal waste when removed from containers and boxes after full use.