Pharmaceutical filter

Abstract

A filter assembly is provided for filtering pharmaceutical fluid materials without danger of contaminating downstream effluent in the event of leakage of unfiltered fluid material past a filter seal, comprising, in combination, a filter housing comprising first and second housing parts; the first housing part having a first fluid chamber open at one side, a fluid port opening into the fluid chamber, and a peripheral sealing lip; the second housing part having a second fluid chamber open at one side, a fluid port opening into the fluid chamber and a peripheral sealing lip; sealing means between the peripheral lips; retaining means holding the housing parts and sealing means in fluid-tight juxtaposition; a filter element disposed in the second fluid chamber in the second housing part and comprising a tubular filter confined between and sealed in a fluid-tight seal to end caps at each end thereof, of which a first end cap is closed, and a second end cap has an opening therethrough communicating the interior of the tubular filter with the first fluid chamber, and a peripheral lip extending into sealing engagement with the sealing means and shaped to fit between and seal against one peripheral sealing lip of one housing part, the peripheral lip extending across and sealingly closing off the open sides of the first and second fluid chambers, so that fluid communication therebetween is restricted to the opening in the second end cap via the filter, and the leakage path at the end cap peripheral lip seal past the sealing means does not bypass the filter, but runs to the exterior of the housing between the housing parts.