A retrospective analysis of medical oxygen articles in national pharmacopoeias
A retrospective analysis of the medical oxygen articles in national pharmacopoeias and other regulatory documents has been done. The necessity of their further improvement has been proven. The content of articles according to following criteria: name, number, gross formula, molecular weight, headings, details about the producing method, impurities identifying, method of concentration measurement for the oxygen produced, information about the packaging and storage mode has been studied. It was found that the Medical oxygen began to be popularly applied in the XIX century, and the first article on it appeared in the Russian military Pharmacopoeia just in 1896. Most of the subsequent editions of the State Pharmacopoeias contain an article on this medical gas. The 9th edition of Soviet Socialist Republics State Pharmacopoeia was the last edition where the quality of medical oxygen was regulated. The authors identified a chronological coincidence between the formation of the national standardization system and transference from being pharmacopoeia medical oxygen into oxygen in accordance with GOST. The correlation between the quality parameters of this medical gas and its production technologies has been established, which was consistently developed from simple chemical method, to a sufficiently complex and widespread today called cryogenic rectification method. The involvement of more advanced technology for producing medical oxygen pressure swing adsorption has been shown. Medical gas which is obtained by this method has different quality requirements comparing with oxygen produced by cryogenic method. An expediency of improving articles on medical gases produced by cryogenic technology on «Medical oxygen gas 99,5%», «Medical oxygen Liquid 99,5%» has been listed, as well as developing articles on «Medical oxygen gas 93%», produced by pressure swing adsorption and their following inclusion in the State Pharmacopoeia.