TECHNOLOGY | ANTICOUNTERFEITING
Right: Verimaster marker masterbatch was originally developed to ensure incorporation of critical additives such as antimicrobials
to create a thermal and chemically stable polymer taggant called POLTAG. Moesslein describes it as a “disrupt” technology. “These sequenced defined oligomers can be synthesised in billions of varia- tions, which can be identified by tandem mass spectroscopy,” he says. The technology can be used in plastics for tracking polymer batches for medical device production or for tracking recyclate content in plastic products. One application for anticounterfeit technologies is to ensure the presence of critical additives in a polymer compound and this has already been exploited by Addmaster, which produces antimi- crobial additives. “Addmaster were one of the first to explore this area when we developed an anticounterfeit range to allow customers to identify if our Biomaster [antimicrobial] additives were present,” says Paul Morris, Founder and CEO of the UK-based company. “We had to protect our clients from issues of our
product not being added (deliberately or by accident) and also to prevent substitution at the point of manufacture. With the Covid-19 pandemic this is as important as ever, as the market is being flooded with copycat and inferior technologies, and our global clients want to make sure they are using the Biomaster technology,” he says. Morris adds that, even outside of this application, the need for plastic product authentication continues to be strong. Its Verimaster additive masterbatch is a covert marker detectable with sensors or in- house lab testing.
Fluorescent markers Masterbatch maker Gabriel-Chemie introduced its TagTec masterbatches containing inert, microscop- ic fluorescent particles at K2019. The fluorescent particles are excited by UV-A light (approximately 310 to 380nm wavelength), and the colour of the
Right:
Detecting the presence of Gabriel- Chemie’s TagTec markers using a hand-held reader
tags detected by either inline or offline instruments that measure the primary emission (in the UV-A range) and the secondary emission (in either the visible range or the near IR range). Some tags are phosphorescent, and instruments can be used to detect the rate of fading of the phosphorescence. Sensor Instruments of Germany developed reading devices for TagTec, which include the Lumi-Mobile hand-held units, Lumi-Lab laboratory devices, and Lumi-Inline process detectors. Gabriel-Chemie explains that there are two methods of detection: Star coding creates a specific reference area (on a bottle cap for exam- ple) where the encoded information can be detected; Tau coding can be read from any part of the object and is material rather than part-specific. Monitoring products containing TagTec technol- ogy can be beneficial along the entire supply chain, the company claims. “A very important feature for medical and pharmaceutical products is the single material identification that provides a product DNA and enables the producer to track the basic material properties of each single produced item, such as series number, production date, raw material tracking, and invoice number,” explains Karpeles. The company adds that TagTec technol- ogy can also be used for separating recycled materials (using Tau coding) and for process control by using part-specific information that can be matched to process data. Australian company Dotz introduced its ValiDotz security markers, which can be used to tag and authenticate most thermoplastic and thermoset materials, in 2017. The carbon-based markers are intended to be embedded in the polymer, are detectable with UV light and can be authenticated using the company’s InSpec mobile phone-based detectors. “The marker represents a unique code combination. When the marker is scanned, the device communicates this code to the cloud
54 COMPOUNDING WORLD | December 2020
www.compoundingworld.com
IMAGE: GABRIEL CHEMIE
IMAGE: ADDMASTER
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