Abstract: A specimen collection tube for liquids such as blood having an internal surface adapted to mate with the bottom of a stopper is provided. By necking in the tube wall at a point which is generally coincident with an appropriately formed taper at the stopper bottom, blood or additives will not be entrapped at the junction. Slots or other openings which may be provided along the outside of the stopper wall are sealed off from the inside of the tube by the necked in portion.

Abstract: A closure, preferably for pharmaceutical containers or bottles, and composed by a metal cap member with a central opening and a depending skirt, and a cover member closing the central opening of the cap member and sealingly engaging with the inner rim portion thereof. According to the invention the inner rim portion of the cap member is inclined inwardly at an acute angle, and when the cover member is later removed the rim portion is deformed or bent outwardly. The inner rim portion of the cap member is preferably bent to its inclined position when the cover member is mounted in the central opening of the cap member.

Abstract: There is disclosed herein a combination stopper for effecting an air-tight seal with the barrel of a syringe to protect the contents from contamination. The stopper is adapted for use with either the luer tip or a needle attached to the end of the syringe barrel. The stopper includes an elongated frustoconically-shaped main body portion having oppositely disposed end walls, and the end wall at the large-diameter end of the main body portion has a generally planar and continuous surface. An elongated frustoconically-shaped luer-receiving nipple is integrally formed with and extends from the small-diameter end wall of the main body portion, with the free end of the nipple being inwardly recessed. The luer-receiving nipple is shaped, sized and constructed to receive and seal the syringe luer tip.

Abstract: A breath-actuated inhalation device for dispensing a powdered medicament from a powdered medicament-holding capsule, comprising an elongate housing having a passageway for the movement of air therethrough, one end of the housing being an output end adapted for insertion into a user's mouth or nasal passage, the passageway having an inlet end terminating in an emptying chamber at the output end of said housing, the cross-sectional area of the passageway being less than the cross-sectional area of the emptying chamber, and means associated with said housing for receiving a powdered medicament-holding capsule. A collar surrounds at least a portion of the periphery of the housing adjacent the emptying chamber and has at least one substantially flat surface with a notch therein, which allows a first, smaller part of a two-part capsule to fit therein but which is too small to allow the second, larger part of the capsule to fit therein.

Abstract: A stopper lock adapted for application to a culture bottle and positioned to retain the stopper on the culture bottle. The lock includes a pair of lock halves with fastener structure. The lock halves have a configuration permitting their placement on the bottle to engage with the stopper and bottle and to lock the stopper in position in the bottle when the fastener structure couples the lock halves together while permitting access to the stopper with a cannula. The stopper lock is a one time use item which cannot be removed from the bottle except by destruction.

Abstract: A thermoplastic pharmaceutical solution container includes a neck portion having at least one port through the neck portion. A thermoplastic port protector or closure covers the port and defines a frangible section. The closure has a length to diameter ratio providing good mechanical advantage leverage to rupture the frangible section when the closure is pushed sideways. A seal is formed with the closure by forcing a die heated above the melting point of the plastic material into the neck portion, removing a portion of the port protector and forming a depression. The frangible section is formed in the vertical side wall of the depression.

Abstract: The neck of a bottle is closed and sealed by a one-piece cap having a cylrical portion which surrounds the neck, a deformable end wall which extends across the open end of the neck, and a flexible hose which is integral with the end wall. The inner side of the end wall has an annular bead which sealingly engages the inner surface of the neck when the pressure in the interior of the bottle is reduced below atmospheric pressure. An annular groove at the inner side of the end wall surrounds the bead and communicates with the atmosphere by way of at least one channel in the cylindrical portion. The groove communicates with the atmosphere during expulsion of air from the bottle, for example, in response to heating, but is sealed from the interior of the bottle when the end wall bulges inwardly and maintains the bead in sealing engagement with the neck.

Abstract: A screw top closure for a container opening defining a helically threaded neck, and a rotatable screw top positioned to permit rotation by the screw top between outward and inward positions on the neck. A sealing partition is positioned across the opening of the neck. In accordance with this invention, an aperture is defined in the sealing partition, the aperture being positioned in off-center relation to the rotational axis of the screw top. A sealing cap member is positioned across the aperture, with a rupturable seal, facing the screw top. A projection is defined on the side of the screw top facing the partition, being positioned to be longitudinally spaced from the sealing cap member when the screw top is in the outward position, and to engage the sealing cap member when the screw top is rotationally advanced to its inward position. Accordingly, the seal between the cap member and the partition may be ruptured in aseptic manner by the projection, to open the aperture.

Abstract: Solutions of certain hydrogenated ergopeptide alkaloids in mixtures of pharmacologically acceptable alcohols and water have improved stability. Preferred solvents are mixtures of ethanol, propylene glycol and glycerol containing from 15-40% wt. of water and having dielectric constants between 34 and 46. With these solutions it is not essential to carry out the filing operation under an inert atmosphere.

Abstract: A device which is adapted to receive a liquid having particles suspended therein includes a one-piece plastic container having an open top, a closed bottom, and an endless side wall extending between the open top and closed bottom to define with the bottom of the container a hollow interior thereof. A partition structure which is integral with the side wall of the container is situated between the open top and closed bottom thereof to define in the interior of the container upper and lower chambers separated from each other by the partition structure. This partition structure extends across the interior of the container and has therein a free edge defining with an inner surface of the side wall of the container an opening through which the above chambers communicate with each other.

Abstract: A closure structure for a vial or container, preferably of the two-compartment type, wherein lyophilized medication is contained in one compartment and a solvent is contained in the other compartment with a displaceable, moistureproof plug disposed between the two compartments. The closure structure is comprised of a stopper which is partially inserted into the neck of a vial and is covered by a cap member having a fastening portion for securing the cap member to the open end of the vial neck and a sleeve portion of reduced diameter which snugly surrounds the protruding portion of the stopper and is disconnectible from the fastening portion in order to move with the protruding portion of the stopper into the neck of the bottle under manually applied pressure. A dust shield is secured to the free end of the sleeve portion and is preferably removed after which the needle of a syringe can be inserted through the stopper to communicate with the interior of the vial.

Abstract: Improved septa for chromatographic apparatus and procedures comprise disc or cylindrical bodies of silicone rubber with a coating of polyimide which may in turn be covered by a coating of Teflon.

Abstract: A stopper which is particularly adaptable to be mounted in an evacuated tube, for example, of the type employed in fluid collection procedures such as the sampling of blood under vacuum. The stopper is designed with a central shaft and a membrane located intermediate the ends of the central shaft. A part of the shaft above the membrane is narrowed upwardly to facilitate retention of a drop of fluid such as blood displaced from the tip of a needle as it is removed from the stopper after the collection procedure.

Abstract: A thermoplastic cap having an annular skirt with external left-handed screw threads thereon and a lateral external frangible brim at a lower end of this cap. The cap fits over a dispensing outlet of a thermoplastic bottle and the brim is precision fused to the bottle to form a hermetically sealed container for sterile medical liquids. An annular jacking ring with internal left-handed threads screws onto the cap skirt to open the container by fracturing the cap at its laterally extending frangible brim.

Abstract: The disclosure is directed to a container for unit doses of dry vaccines which are to be administered on the surface of the skin. The unit dose container is made up of a rigid receptacle and a compressible closure which supports a bifurcated needle bearing dried vaccine. The closure is adapted to support the needle in the container during a lyophilizing process while liquid vaccine is dried on the needle. The closure has grooves which in one position of the closure relative to the receptacle permit the vaporized liquid from the vaccine to be withdrawn from the receptacle during lyophilizing. In another position the closure seals the container. The move from the first position to the second position is accomplished merely by pressing on the end of the closure.

Abstract: A system for the transferral, freezing, storage and processing of liquids with a minimum of contamination is described. The components of the system include a hollow disc-shaped vessel of special construction which permits rapid freezing at extremely low temperatures, a pierceable, resilient sealing member on the ports of the disc-shaped vessel and a pointed cannular needle which is protected from contamination prior to use and operable to pierce the sealing member free of any contamination.