DIFFERENT TYPES OF WATER FOR PHAMACEUTICAL USE

Water is one of the most important ingredients that is used in the pharmaceutical industry. It is used both as a solvent for processing and as an ingredient for the formulation of pharmaceutical products in the pharma industry. The water used in pharmaceuticals is different from regular water or what we call tap water. Producing water for pharmaceutical use is a complex task in which water has to go through various stages such as production, storage and distribution.  

Generally, water has to be purified before using for pharmaceutical applications and sometimes has to go through advanced purification processes to get rid of microbial contamination. 

Let us take a quick look at the different grades of water that are used for pharmaceutical applications.

Drinking water or regular tap water that comes from the public supply is processed and converted to purified water before using the water for pharmaceutical use. The sources of drinking water are lakes, ponds, rivers, seas, springs and wells. The water obtained directly from these sources is not fit for pharmaceutical use. It has to go through a purification process that is done with the help of water treatment systems where demineralization, softening and particle reduction methods are applied to the water to make it fit for further processing.

Purified water is another class of water used in pharmaceuticals. To obtain purified water, the water has to go through electrode ionization and reverse osmosis purification systems. 

Highly purified water is another grade of water that is used in pharmaceuticals and is considered to be one of the purest forms of water besides water for injection. Highly purified water is free of endotoxins and pathogens and also prevents recontamination of the water from the microbial organisms. 

Water for injection is the highest or the purest form the pharmaceutical water as compared to any other form. It is manufactured from purified water using a Multi-column distillation process or vapor compression.