The chilling truth
April 1st 2007

Timestrip has launched an inexpensive label that provides a clear indication of temperature abuse in the cold supply chain for products such as live vaccines and most biopharmaceuticals.

iStrip works by recording the presence of very low temperatures with an irreversible colour change, typically from red to colourless. The nominal freeze point is 0°C but iStrip can be made with a freeze point to match the product to which it is applied.

IStrip consists of a liquid formulation encapsulated in a label or blister. Because the volume of liquid needed to present a visible colour change is very small, the indicator can be manufactured as a twodimensional label, suitable for standard label application techniques.

According to Timestrip, the market for this technology is potentially huge: live vaccines and many other products have to be transported and stored in temperatures ranging from 2°C to 7°C but are vulnerable to damage if the temperature in transit or storage drops below 0°C.

The effects of even a temporary drop to freezing temperatures can render a vaccine ineffective.

iStrip is small enough and cost-effective enough to be applied to individual products or blister packs, giving much more accurate record of the temperature level experienced by a single product.