Promoting Sustainable Research and Development in the Pharmaceutical Industry via RFID Technology

The pharmaceutical industry is progressively adopting sustainable packaging strategies, including the use of fully recyclable mono-material blister packs. However, the increased permeability of these materials to environmental factors, such as temperature and humidity, introduces challenges in preserving drug stability. This work presents a Ultra-High Frequency (UHF) Radio Frequency Identification (RAIN RFID) based system designed to support sustainable packaging research by enabling non-invasive, real-time monitoring of temperature and humidity within individual blister cavities. The proposed solution combines a miniaturized, battery-free UHF RFID sensor probe with a multi-antenna reading architecture optimized for RF operation in metallic climatic chambers. The system was validated through controlled tests using a mono-material blister with both sealed and micro-perforated cavities, demonstrating its ability to detect differences in humidity dynamics and maintain stable communication throughout extended measurements. This approach supports efficient validation of eco-friendly blister materials and sealing processes, fostering sustainable innovation in pharmaceutical packaging.