Medical Device Link.

Pharmaceutical and Medical Packaging News Magazine
PMPN Article Index

Originally Published June 1999

PRODUCT UPDATE

Peelable, Printable, Formable

FILMS

Flexible packaging often requires an effective barrier against moisture, oxygen, or both. Films provide this barrier, as well as other characteristics. Some can offer visual evidence of seal integrity, while others are designed to replace thicker, more expensive films. There are special films for shrink bands and films that provide a surface compatible with the inks used for graphics and text. Many films provide toughness and puncture resistance as well as the ability to be sterilized using a variety of methods.

A medical forming film seals and peels to all styles of uncoated or coated Tyvek lid stock. PerfecFlex CPT provides visual seal transfer and verification upon opening without the use of an adhesive coating. The film offers the opportunity for downgauging for material cost savings and better material yield. PerfecFlex CPT films are clearer, form more easily, and run at higher speeds than conventional forming films, according to the manufacturer. CPT is especially suitable for porous applications and is available in several types, including EVA/Surlyn/CPT and PP/nylon/CPT. Perfecseal, Philadelphia, PA.

High-performance PVC shrink films are designed specifically for medical and pharmaceutical tamper-evident packaging. Super Shrink's seamless tube films are available in clear, tinted, and custom-printed colors and designs. Sizes range from 1 to 4 mil in thickness and from 20 to 900 mm in width. Vertical and horizontal perforations are available to allow consumers easy shrink-band removal. The company's customer service department helps size film to meet exact product specifications and can quickly provide product samples as needed. Traco Manufacturing Inc., Orem, UT.

A wide range of high-quality film products are suited for flexible medical and pharmaceutical packaging. Ecdel elastomer combines the chemical resistance, toughness, autoclave resistance, and inertness of polyesters with flexibility over a broad temperature range. Both Mxsten CM polymers and Mxsten CV plastomers can be coextruded with Ecdel elastomers or other high-temperature materials to produce clear, tough, autoclave-resistant flexible films. Mxsten polymers offer puncture and toughness properties that make these films suitable for flexible medical device packaging. Tenite Hifor Clear polymers combine clarity with strength for mono- and multilayered film applications. Eastman Chemical Co., Kingsport, TN.

Specialty packaging film composites can be used to create peelable seals suitable for hard-to-hold chemicals. Films can be tailored to meet any barrier requirement by incorporating one of a variety of foils or clear barrier-coated materials. The films are available in rollstock form or in premade pouches, printed or unprinted. Rollprint Packaging Products Inc., Addison, IL.

A polycarbonate film offers a suitable surface for printing, die-cutting, forming, and embossing. The Makrofol film is available in thicknesses ranging from 0.010 to 0.030 in. The manufacturer recently won an award based on quality, response time, delivery time, correct sheet size and count, and packaging. Bayer Plastics Div., Bayer Corp., Pittsburgh, PA.

A broad range of films for pharmaceutical and medical device packaging include vinyl, polyester, and Barex films as well as PVdC-coated and Aclar-laminated barrier films. The Pentapharm Aclar CX 130/02 barrier film uses AlliedSignal's Aclar CX film and is a cost-effective medium-barrier film. The company's Pentaprint TDO shrink-sleeve films are suitable for tamper-evident bands and full or partial body wrapping of bottles. Pentaprint MDO films are designed for pressure-sensitive labels. Other films offered include Optilid push-through vinyl lid stock. Pentamed films are EtO, gamma, and E-beam sterilizable. Klöckner Pentaplast of America, Gordonsville, VA.

A high-barrier film for lamination is made from a copolymer of vinylidene chloride and methyl acrylate. Barrialon-UB provides an effective barrier against oxygen and water vapor. The film has high-heat resistance and is stable in gas barrier property even in a humid atmosphere. When laminated with PP-based films or substrates, Barrialon-UB can provide a thermoformable rigid container; by changing the lamination layer, a semirigid container may be created. Asahi Chemical Industry America Inc., New York, NY.

A company manufactures high-quality polystyrene, polyester, and polypropylene sheet and film to meet high performance standards. All materials are extruded from virgin resins in FDA-certified white rooms and are suitable for gamma ray, EtO, or electron-beam sterilization. The materials provide compatibility with form-fill-seal packaging, in addition to thermoforming equipment, coated film, papers, foil, and Tyvek. Primex Plastics Corp., Richmond, IN.

Polyurethane films provide strong, nonallergenic alternatives to other materials, particularly natural latex. Applications include medical bags, medical instrument and scope covers, protective barrier sleeves, and other products made from polyurethane film in sizes up to 18 x 24 in. The company's cleanroom welding system can be used to make a seal that is strong and almost undetectable. Polyzen Inc., Cary, NC.

Flexible, rigid, and expanded PVC films are offered by a company that provides in-house design and converting services. The company can design films with special characteristics such as hand, slip, camber, lay-flat, ductility, cold crack, color, tint, embossing, printing, antistatic, and UV resistance. Standard products include Super Class double-polished clear, frosted clear, expanded, opaque, and rigid PVC films in both thermoforming and box-lid grades. EPV Plastics Corp., Oxford, MA.

A high-performance shrink film provides consistent sealing and shrinking within a broad range of temperatures. Exlfilmplus film offers clarity, tear resistance, tensile strength, and conformability even to objects of an irregular shape. The film complies with FDA standards and is designed for a wide range of applications. Intertape Polymer Group, Bradenton, FL.