Vials Containing Lyophilized Drugs
Lyophilized drugs in vials must first be reconstituted with a diluent to put the drug into solution. Sometimes lyophilized drugs come with special diluents for reconstitution but the diluent is specificed on the label or in the product information. In this example, sterile water for injection is being used as the diluent.
Clean air is injected into the sterile water vial to help extract the sterile water from the vial.
The air is injected into the sterile water and the water is withdrawn into the syringe. The volume of sterile water is adjusted to the amount needed for the reconstitution.
The syringe and needle containing the water is held at approximately 45 degrees, needle bevel up, just prior to entering the vial.
The amount of sterile water diluent is adjusted prior to the dilution. The water is then injected into the vial reconstituting the lyophilized drug.