January 12th is National Pharmacist Day. Have you ever been sick and had to visit your local drugstore to obtain a prescription written by your doctor? If you’ve ever gotten a liquid suspension, you may have witnessed the pharmacist use a centrifuge, a vessel that spins at a high speed, forcing heavy material to the outside of the vessel. Centrifuges are used because particles often separate from a liquid due to gravity; this is called sedimentation. A centrifuge uses g-force to isolate these suspended particles. The process separates two insoluble liquids (such as oil and water).

There is evidence that centrifuges were used as far back as the 13th century, to separate cream from milk. And pharmacists have existed as far back as the B.C. era, when prescriptions were written on cuneiform tablets and papyrus. Centuries later, New World explorers often searched for medicinal plants as they visited countries around the world. During the 17th century, King James I established the first independent pharmacist guild in England. Apothecaries were popular at the time, with people dispensing remedies and medical advice. The American Pharmaceutical Association formed in 1852, and soon coated pills and gelatin capsules were mass-produced. This lead pharmacists at drugstores to become more like shopkeepers than trained scientists. In recent years, there has been a resurgence of pharmacists taking a more proactive role in giving medication to patients. Nowadays, pharmacists can counsel people on how to properly take their medication, and their high salaries and projected growth have shown them to be one of the best career options in healthcare. Pharmacy and drug store sales in the U.S. represent a $236 billion dollar industry. More than 44 million prescriptions are filled annually at pharmacies, and 7 out of 10 Americans take one or more prescription drugs

At BV Thermal, we understand that accurate temperature control is critical for centrifugal systems. For more information, visit our website BV Thermal.com and read below for a timeline on the pharmaceutical industry:

750 AD – drug stores are set up in Baghdad during the Islamic Golden Age
1200s – early forms of drug stores are established in Europe (pharmacies were formerly in monasteries)
1605 – pharmacist Louis Herbert travels to the New World, helping explorers learn about remedies and medicinal plants from native people
1729 – the first pharmacy in the U.S. is founded in Philadelphia by an Irish immigrant
1755 – John Morgan, who practiced as a hospital pharmacist, becomes an early advocate of prescription writing
1852 – the American Pharmaceutical Association is founded (now the American Pharmacists Association) which helps to standardize pharmaceutical medicines
1894 – diphtheria antitoxin is produced in horses
1942 – pharmaceutical manufacturing takes on its modern form
1990 – Electronic Prescribing systems are developed to automate prescriptions