STERILIZATION AND BISINFECTION IN THE PHARMACY 365 



a pipette or a medicine dropper. The burette has many advantages. 

 Many ampuls can be filled from one burette, the exact amounts can easily 

 be measured. The pipette is far less convenient than the burette and is 

 more easily contaminated. A well graduated medicine dropper is very 

 convenient, but all things considered the burette is recommended. 

 The points to be kept in mind are. 



a. Irhe finished ampul should not be more than three-quarters full. 

 The length (of untapered portion of tube) of a neat ooking ampul is about 

 three or four times the diameter of the tubing used. 



b. In filling, introduce at least 10 per cent, more than the actual dose 

 required, that is, the i cc. tube should contain i.io cc; the 5 cc. tube 

 should contain 5.50 cc. of the medicinal substance, etc. This is to make 

 sure that the physician may get a full i cc, 5 cc, etc., dose after allowing 

 for unavoidable loss (portion clinging to inside of ampul, remaining in 

 narrowed ends, etc.). 



c. In fiUing do not allow any of the liquid to come in contact with the 

 upper end (open end) of the tube as that might interfere with seaUng. 



There are many different methods for filling ampuls which may be 

 classed under three heads; filling by gravity, by pressure, and by vacuum; 

 the latter two being but modifications of the same principle involved. 

 There are on the market (France, Holland, Germany) several devices 

 made expressly for filling and sealing ampuls. 



F. Sealing the Filled Half Ampuls.— This is done by means of suitable 

 side-flame blow-pipe burner, pinching together and drawing our the soft end 

 0/ the glass by means of pincers and seahng in same manner as the other 

 end. Do not upend the ampul untU it is cool, to avoid cracking the glass. 



G. Sterilizing the Ampuls.— The hypodermic and other solutions 

 usually put up in ampuls can be divided into three classes or groups accord- 

 ing to the degree of heat which may or must be used in sterilizing, namely, 

 those which cannot withstand a temperature above 60° C, those which 

 can be sterilized at 100° C, and those which may be steriUzed in an 

 autoclave at 1 20° C. Inasmuch as the autoclave is rarely usable and also 

 because the ordinary steam temperature (100° C.) will meet all of the 

 requirements of the autoclave, the latter piece of apparatus may be left 

 out of consideration by the practising pharmacist. 



To bring about a complete sterilization of the ampuls, the discontinued 

 or fractional method should in all cases be carried out. Place the ampuls 

 in a container (beaker, tumbler, etc) with water to which enough methyl 

 blue or f uchsin has been added to give it a very marked color and steriUze 

 as follows: H a temperature of 60° C. is to be used, apply this temperature 

 (in incubator with Reichert thermo regulator) for one hour each day for 

 four to eight days. I^ome manufacturers recommend a period of ten days. 

 If the 100° C. is to be used, apply this temperature (in an ordnary Arnold 



