Making Microsphere Screening Simpler: An In-Depth Analysis of the Navector PV Series Microsphere Screen

In the biopharmaceutical industry, microspheres serve as critical intermediates such as drug carriers, vaccine delivery materials, and support materials for regenerative medicine. Their particle size uniformity, purity, and sterility are crucial to the safety and efficacy of downstream formulations. As pharmaceutical standards continue to become more stringent, traditional screening methods have become increasingly unable to meet the industry’s demands for high standards, high consistency, and high-efficiency production.

Against this backdrop, the PV Series sterile vibratory microsphere screen independently developed by Navector successfully breaks through technical barriers with its innovative design, providing an advanced and reliable solution for microsphere preparation and screening.

I. Industry Challenges: The Triple Challenge of Sterility, Precision, and Efficiency

In pharmaceutical microsphere screening processes, companies generally face the following core challenges:

• Extremely high sterility requirements in microsphere preparation

Pharmaceutical production must strictly comply with GMP standards. Microspheres must remain sterile throughout preparation, screening, and post-processing stages to prevent contamination that could affect drug efficacy and safety.

• Traditional screening equipment cannot achieve high-precision control

Conventional mechanical vibrating screens or rotary vibratory screens have limitations in screening accuracy, making it difficult to achieve stable control over very small particle size ranges. This instability is especially evident in fine screening above 10 μm.

• Low efficiency and significant resource waste in multi-step processes

Traditional processes typically require separate steps for screening, dewatering, and drying, increasing operational complexity and equipment investment, while also leading to higher energy consumption and labor costs.

II. Process Design Logic of the Navector Microsphere Screen

To systematically address these challenges, the Navector PV Series sterile vibratory microsphere screen is built around innovative design, forming a comprehensive, high-standard solution.

• Innovative structure to enhance screening efficiency and consistency

Unique screen structure and vibratory drying technology: Through patented screen structures and vibratory drying technology, microspheres remain highly uniformly distributed during screening, improving particle consistency and screening efficiency.

Fully automatic control system: The screening process supports fully automated control including start-up, operation, cleaning, and shutdown, significantly reducing operator workload and improving production stability.

• Sterile and safe design compliant with industry standards

CIP (Clean-In-Place) and SIP (Sterilize-In-Place) support: Fully enclosed equipment design with online cleaning and sterilization capabilities ensures sterility throughout the entire process and meets GMP and high hygiene requirements of the pharmaceutical industry.

Compliance with ASME-BPE standards: The equipment is manufactured according to stringent pharmaceutical hygiene design standards, featuring a dead-corner-free and fully enclosed structure to effectively ensure production safety and product quality.

• Flexible adaptation to multiple scenarios

Controllable screening precision: With a highly mature screen manufacturing process, customized screens can be provided according to different customer requirements. Screens with precision ranging from 10 μm to 600 μm are available, meeting diverse microsphere needs from nano-scale to medium particle sizes.

Compatibility with both dry and wet processing: Whether the material is in wet suspension or dry powder form, the equipment delivers stable screening performance.

• Efficient dewatering and energy-saving advantages

The equipment not only performs screening but also integrates efficient dewatering and vacuum drying functions. After screening, vacuum drying technology is applied, and heated nitrogen is introduced to remove moisture, enabling rapid dewatering, improving overall process efficiency, and reducing energy consumption during moisture evaporation.

• Easy maintenance design based on the principle of cost reduction and efficiency improvement

Scientific structural design: Rational frame structure and durable screens ensure low wear during long-term operation.

Quick screen replacement (3–5 minutes): Simplifies maintenance procedures and reduces downtime, lowering labor costs.

• High-standard manufacturing to ensure product quality

All key material-contact parts are made of 316L stainless steel (internal electropolishing Ra < 0.4 μm), while non-contact parts are made of 304 stainless steel (Ra < 0.6 μm), ensuring long-term durability and compliance with pharmaceutical cleanliness standards.

• Integrated process design with efficiency enhancement as the core objective

The system is specifically designed for sterile batch filtration and washing of pharmaceutical solids, followed by further dewatering and drying. All processes are completed within a sealed chamber, eliminating the need for intermediate transfer, handling, or exposure to the external environment. This integrated design significantly reduces material transfers and manual intervention, lowers the risk of external contamination, and enhances sterility control.

III. Typical Application Scenarios

Microsphere screens are mainly used for high-precision separation and drying of microsphere materials under sterile conditions, particularly in pharmaceutical and related R&D and production processes.

From supporting cutting-edge laboratory research to ensuring the stable operation of large-scale production lines, the PV Series sterile vibratory microsphere screen demonstrates outstanding performance, proving itself to be an ideal choice for critical screening and filtration processes in pharmaceutical engineering.

Navector will continue to uphold its spirit of innovation, committed to delivering more breakthrough solutions for the global biopharmaceutical industry and driving the entire sector toward higher quality and higher standards.