MATERIALS | MEDICAL
Eckel, senior vice president of sales and marketing at Pacur. “With our custom sheet and rollstock solutions, leveraging Eastar Renew 6763, we are enabling progress toward a circular economy.” Eastman says that the
material, produced using ‘molecular recycling’, is indistinguishable from its Eastar 6763 copolyester – having the same durability, safety and performance
Above: Formpeel P is a new recyclable thermoforming film from Coveris
characteristics. Using the material enables Pacur to certify that plastic waste is being diverted from landfills to make new packaging. The amount of plastic waste diverted is tracked through an ISCC-certified mass balance accounting approach that allocates recycled content to Eastman Renew materials. Eastman is on the verge of opening a ‘molecular
recycling’ facility in Kingsport, Tennessee. The facility has the capacity to recycle around 110,000 tonnes/year of plastics. The company says will help it reach its goal of recycling 225,000 tonnes/year of plastic waste by 2030.
Right: Flexcon’s MedFlex label substrates are used for
medical device labelling and tracking
Microfluidic film Röhm recently showcased several speciality plastics for medical technology at the Compamed show in Germany. An example was its Europlex COC films, which have been used to seal microfluidic lab-on-a-chip systems thanks to a number of special properties – including high transparency, low inherent fluorescence and low birefringence. The films are biocompatible and can be sterilised. They have high resistance to acids, alkalis and a number of solvents. In addition, they withstand high thermal loads – a key property for applications or test methods that involve heating samples. The films can be applied to injection-moulded
parts using ultrasonic welding, laser welding or thermobonding. This allows analysis chips to be sealed quickly and gently at a lower temperature. The company can offer bespoke services, such as manufacturing the films in custom dimensions.
Thermoforming film Coveris launched a new recyclable thermoforming film at the recent Compamed show in Germany. Formpeel P adds to its portfolio of sustainable
materials, which also includes Formpeel T, Flexopeel T and Cleerpeel. The co-extruded film is ideal for thermoforming
26 FILM & SHEET EXTRUSION | January/February 2024
www.filmandsheet.com
and offers good puncture resistance. It is available on a peelable polyethylene (PE) or polyolefin (PO) base. With a sustainable lidding film, the thermoforming PA-free bottom films are a sustainable solution and help protect medical products. The solution also fits with ethylene oxide (ETO) sterilisation as well as plasma and gamma irradiation. Together with Cleerpeel – a transparent pouch based on O-PE/PE film – both solutions allow for sterile extraction of medical products. For medical customers producing bulk devices using form-fill-seal equipment, Coveris showed a packaging solution using uncoated Tyvek 2FS or 1073B sealed to a thermoformable mono-material structure, called Formpeel T film. A highlight of this PE material is that it can be produced from 100 to 250 microns, meeting various product demands and replacing standard A-PET or even PET-G films. Another benefit is the low back-shrink property and good forming characteristics of Formpeel T.
Printable films Flexcon Global has developed a range of polyester printable films and overlaminates for medical device labelling and tracking. Its MedFlex label substrates meet all performance criteria required by the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) unique device identifier (UDI) rule for FDA Class I, II, and III medical devices used outside the body, it says. In addition, MedFlex Plus films are UL-Verified (V487460) with six additional cleaning agents per IEC 60601-1. “MedFlex Plus printable polyesters open up
market opportunities for converters and printers and give them a head start in delivering immediately adoptable, UL-recognized label materials designed specifically for the medical device industry,” said Melissa David, manager for
IMAGE: COVERIS
IMAGE: FLEXCON
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