First medical-grade TPEs that can be calendered

New technologies from three cooperating suppliers to the medical device market possible film products that combine the advantages of thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) over PVC, the quality benefits of calendering, and the sealing efficiency of radio frequency (RF) welding, it was announced by Teknor Apex Company. 

In collaboration with O’Sullivan Films (Winchester, VA) and Indianapolis-based Genesis Plastics Welding (Booth 3137), Teknor Apex Company has demonstrated that films produced from its Medalist? MD-500 Series elastomers eliminate the traditional disadvantages of TPEs in such applications as fluid drainage and storage bags, cushioning bladders, and surgical pouches, exhibiting performance that is fully comparable to PVC in processing, bonding, assembly, and clinical handling. In fact, tests by Teknor Apex and cooperating customers have shown that Medalist MD-500 Series TPEs provide a number of property improvements over PVC, along with substantial savings in weight and cost, according to Elliott Pritikin, global medical market manager for the Thermoplastic Elastomer Division of Teknor Apex.

While calendered PVC film is widely used in medical applications, traditional TPEs have not performed well in calendering, a process which typically provides better thickness uniformity, more consistent physical properties, and greater thermal stability than film extrusion. Working with Teknor Apex, O’Sullivan Films has demonstrated that Medalist? MD-500 Series medical elastomers can be formulated for successful calendering.

“Our company has attempted to calender a wide range of plastics besides PVC and concluded that most are simply not calenderable,” noted Chuck Stronach, O’Sullivan Films commercial manager for healthcare products. The company discovered that Medalist 500 Series compounds can be adapted for this process, and together with Teknor Apex, it carried out a lot of R&D work to optimize the production and properties of Medalist calendered films.

Film and bag applications for Medalist MD-500 Series TPEs include cushioning bladders (for mattresses, wheel chairs, and gurneys); IV and saline bags; medicine storage and delivery pouches; bags for enteral and parenteral nutrition storage and delivery; dialysis bags; and surgical pouches.

“While there is pressure on medical device companies to replace PVC in a number of applications, the track record and excellent cost-performance profile of PVC have in the past made it difficult to replace,” said Teknor Apex’s Elliott Pritikin. “Recently, however, Medalist MD-500 Series elastomers have been commercially successful as alternatives to PVC in medical tubing, and now they are proving to offer clear-cut advantages over PVC in film products.”

Nike Roshe