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P Filter bags and bonnets are critical components in fluid-bed processing equipment. This article explains how properly car- ing for your spare filters can extend their life and help you avoid costly downtime. harmaceutical manufacturers make sizable investments in production equipment, GMP space, validation burden, and quality programs to ensure that they produce their drug products safely, efficiently, and profitably. Manufacturers simply cannot afford excessive downtime, so spare equipment parts are critical. For example, fluid-bed dryer bags and bonnets must always be ready for immediate deployment, which means they must be clean, inspected, in good repair, properly documented, and fit for the intended use. Awareness and training in the proper cleaning, handling, and storage of filter bags and bonnets can help manufacturers realize the best return on their equipment and facility investments and help mitigate certain risks in fluid-bed operations. Imagine a $1.5 million production-scale fluid-bed suite sitting idle because a $1,200 spare set of bead coating bonnets was found to be damaged due to improper han- dling, storage, or cleaning and drying methods. This article will discuss some best practices for manag- ing fluid-bed filter bags and bonnets and ensuring that these critical spare components are available and ready for use when needed. With respect to fluid-bed dryers, the term "bag" typically refers to a filter with a patterned arrangement of multiple long tubes with sewn-on caps at one end stitched to a circular or semi-circular fabric base at the other end. This type of filter bag is sometimes referred to as an "octopus" bag, because the tubes resem- ble octopus tentacles. They are constructed from closed- weave fabrics and are most often used in drying and agglomerating operations. Bonnets, on the other hand, somewhat resemble a gentleman's top hat, consisting of a single, large cylindri- cal chamber with a flat sheet of fabric sewn across the top and a skirted base. They are commonly made with an open-mesh fabric and are most often used in coating Care and handling of fluid-bed dryer filters Edward S. Novit Freund-Vector drying Tablets & Capsules January 2019 27