PDA Technical Glossary
PDA Technical Reports are highly valued membership benefits because they offer expert guidance and opinions on important scientific and regulatory topics and are used as essential references by industry and regulatory authorities around the world. These reports include terms which explain the material and enhance the reader’s understanding.
The database presented here includes the glossary terms from all current technical reports. The database is searchable by keyword, topic, or by technical report. Each definition provided includes a link to the source technical report within the PDA Technical Report Portal.
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- TR 62: Manual Aseptic Processes (4)
- TR 69: Bioburden/Biofilm Management (4)
- TR 22: Aseptic Process Simulation (3)
- TR 51: Biological Indicators (2)
- TR 3: Validation: Dry Heat (2)
- TR 13: Environmental Monitoring (2)
- TR 26: Sterilizing Filtration of Liquids (2)
- TR 88: Microbial Data Deviation Investigations in the Pharmaceutical Industry (2)
- TR 47: Virus Spikes/Virus Clearance (1)
- TR 49: Validation: Cleaning Biotech (1)
- TR 57: Analytical Method Validation (1)
- TR 61: Steam in Place (1)
- TR 67: Objectionable Microorganisms (1)
- TR 74: Reprocessing of Biopharmaceuticals (1)
- TR 14: Validation: Protein Purification Chromatography (1)
- TR 15: Validation: TFF in Biopharmaceuticals (1)
- TR 83: Virus Contamination in Biomanufacturing: Risk Mitigation, Preparedness, and Response (1)
- TR 28: Process Simulation for Bulk API (1)
- TR 44: QRM: Aseptic Processes (1)
- TR 45: Depth Filtration (1)
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Adverse Trend
A series of alert-level or action-level excursions that indicates the system or areas are not in control and have the potential to affect the product quality. (TR 70)
An increase in the frequency of alert- and action-level excursions or repeated recovery of low levels of microorganisms below the alert level during microbial monitoring or of pharmaceutical ingredient or finished product failure that is indicative of a loss of process control. (TR88)
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Airlock
A room that controls the airflow between two rooms of different classification. (TR 70)
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Antimicrobial Chemical Agent
Substance used to destroy or suppress the growth of microorganisms, whether bacteria, fungi, or viruses, on inanimate objects and surfaces. (TR70)
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Area Disinfection
Disinfection of floors, walls, ceilings, and other surfaces. (TR70)
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Aseptic Processing Area (APA)
Controlled environment, consisting of several zones, in which the air supply, facility, materials, equipment and personnel are regulated to control microbial and particulate contamination to acceptable levels. (TR22) (TR28) (TR62) (TR70)
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Bioburden
The total number of microorganisms per unit of material prior to sterilization. (TR13) Total number of viable microorganisms on or in a health care product prior to sterilization. (TR22)(TR61)(TR62) A population of viable microorganisms in a fluid prior to sterilizing filtration. (TR26) A measure of the contaminating organisms found in or on a given amount of material before it undergoes a sterilization process. (TR45) (TR70) The number of detectable microorganisms (bacteria and fungi) with which an object is contaminated. It is measured in CFU (colony forming units). (TR47) The number of viable, contaminating microorganisms present on a product immediately prior to decontamination. (TR51) Viable microbial contaminants associated with personnel manufacturing environments (air and surfaces), equipment, product packaging, raw materials (including water), in-process materials, and finished products. (TR 67) (TR 69)
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Contact Time
The minimum amount of time that a sanitizer, disinfectant, or sporicide must be left in complete (wet) contact with the surface to be treated in order to be effective. (TR70)
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Contaminant
Any adventitiously or externally introduced material(s) (e.g., chemical, biochemical, or microbial species) not intended to be part of the process. (TR14) (TR15) (TR70)
An undesired impurity of a chemical or microbiological nature that is introduced into a raw material, intermediate, or API (drug substance) during manufacture. (TR14) (TR15)
Any adventitiously introduced materials (e.g., chemical, biochemical, or microbial species) not intended to be part of the manufacturing process of the drug substance or drug product. (TR69) (TR74)
Any adventitiously introduced material (e.g., chemical, biochemical) or microorganisms including viruses not intended to be included in the manufacturing process of the drug substance or drug product. (TR83)
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Coverage
The appropriate distribution of a chemical agent needed on the equipment surface to be effective. (TR70)
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Degradation
The breakdown (usually chemical) of material during manufacture, including during and after the cleaning process. (TR49) (TR70)
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Depyrogenation
The destruction and/or removal of bacterial endotoxins. A depyrogenation process should demonstrate at least 99.9% or a 3-log endotoxin reduction. (TR3) Removal or destruction of pyrogens. (TR70)
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Detergent
A synthetic wetting agent and emulsifier that can be added to a solvent to improve its cleaning efficiency. (TR70)
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Disinfectant
A chemical or physical agent that reduces, destroys, or eliminates vegetative forms of harmful microorganisms but not spores. (TR70)
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Disinfection
The destruction of pathogenic and other kinds of microorganisms by thermal or chemical means. (TR51) (TR70) Process of eliminating nearly all recognized pathogenic microorganisms but not necessarily all microbial forms (e.g., bacterial spores) on inanimate objects. (TR69) The chemical or physical inactivation of a bioburden on inanimate surfaces. Typically this requires a minimum three-log (3-log) reduction of vegetative microorganisms and two-log (2-log) reduction for bacterial spore be achieved in validation. (TR13)
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Environmental Monitoring (EM)
Describes the processes and activities that need to take place to characterize and monitor the quality of the environment. (TR70)
Monitoring for nonviable particulates and/or microorganisms where the result meets or exceeds the alert and/or action level or limit. (TR88)
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First Air
Refers to the air exiting at the face of HEPA filters. Based on the airflow through HEPA filters and its unidirectional air flow the air exiting at the filter face is for the purposed of aseptic processing free of particulate contamination (both viable and non-viable). (TR70)
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Gamma Irradiation
The process by which a material is rendered sterile by exposing the material to a radioactive source, such as Cobalt 60. (TR70) Ionizing radiation that can be used to sterilize a material. (TR26)
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High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) Filter
A type of air filter that must satisfy certain standards of efficiency such as those set by the United States Department of Energy (DOE). The air filter must remove 99.97% of all particles greater than 0.3 micrometer from the air that passes through it. (TR62) (TR70)
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In-Use Testing (also called In-Situ Testing)
A field study that validates the effectiveness of a disinfecting agent, the trained operators, and the approved operating procedures. (TR70)
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Isolates
Microorganisms that are recovered from a facility. (TR70)
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Largest Daily Dose
Maximum daily dose of the next product to be produced in the equipment train. (TR70)
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Log Reduction
Log reduction is defined as the first log being 90%, the second log being 9% and the third log being 0.09% of the original inoculums. (TR70)
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Penicylinder
A small, ceramic carrier surface used to hold cultures of microorganisms. Used in antimicrobial effectiveness testing procedures. (TR70)
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Pyrogen
Any substance capable of eliciting a febrile (or fever) response upon injection or infection (as in endotoxin released in vivo by Gram-negative bacteria. (TR3) Fever-producing substance (TR69) A material that elicits a pyrogenic response (fever). (TR70)
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Sanitizer
A compound that will reduce the number of vegetative microorganisms to a safe level as determined by public health requirements. Normally a reduction of 103 in vegetative microorganisms is obtained. (TR70)
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Sonicate
To use sound energy to agitate particles; generally used to accomplish mixing or cleaning. (TR70)
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Sporicide
A compound that destroys all vegetative microorganisms and bacterial and fungal spores. (TR70)
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Sterile
Absence of life; usually refers to absence of viable microorganisms. Note: In practice, no such absolute statement regarding the absence of microorganisms can be proven. (TR22) (TR62) The absence of viable microorganisms. (TR44) (TR70)
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Substrate
Primary construction material of a surface to be cleaned or disinfected. (TR70)
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Transfer Disinfection
A disinfection process conducted on materials and equipment that coats the surface for a validated wetted time to remove bioburden prior to introducing such items into classified areas. (TR70)
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Vapor Phase Hydrogen Peroxide (VPHP)
A disinfection system in which 35% hydrogen peroxide is changed to a vapor phase and used for bioburden reduction of a chamber or items in a chamber. (TR70)