Company insight Sealed for success
Medical Device Developments sits down with Charlotte Mavor, strategic programme leader at Oliver Healthcare Packaging, to discuss peelable sealants, their role in sterile barrier systems and more about Oliver’s new peelable technology – LumaPeel.
For our readers that are newer to the industry, can you share what exactly is a peelable sealant in medical packaging? Charlotte Mavor: A peelable sealant is what we call a functional layer in healthcare packaging, which allows two materials to be sealed securely together and then peeled cleanly apart. The seal technology plays a critical role in keeping the sterile barrier intact all the way to point of use, as well as allowing a nurse or technician to open the package safely within the sterile field without fibre tear, adhesive transfer or excessive force.
Peelable sealants can be delivered in different ways. The most common are heat seal coatings, which can be applied to porous substrates such as paper and DuPont Tyvek®
Whereas in peelable films the sealant layer is built directly into the film structure, both aim to protect sterility while enabling aseptic opening; not an easy balance to strike.
Can you go into more detail about how a peelable sealant works? Peelable sealants generally fall into two categories: adhesive peel systems and cohesive peel systems. In an adhesive peel, such as PET/PE sealed to uncoated Tyvek, the polyethylene (PE) simply releases from the Tyvek when the package is opened. The two webs return to their original states, with the visual seal trace being caused by a
mechanical roughing of the surfaces. Cohesive peel systems, like peelable films or heat seal coatings, function differently. With peelable films, the PE sealant is blended with other polymers that disrupt the molecular matrix, preventing a permanent bond to Tyvek. When opened, the sealant layer splits cohesively within itself. The seal trace left is a thin layer of film that was permanently bonded to the Tyvek. Heat seal coatings achieve peelability in a similar way, but instead of a polymer blend within a film, the effect is engineered directly into the coating chemistry.
How does LumaPeel fit into your portfolio?
.
Oliver has a long history with adhesive coating and LumaPeel is our next step forward for a dedicated portfolio that expands our offering beyond coatings. It gives our customers flexibility in choosing the right building blocks for their packaging system. LumaPeel complements our coating expertise by allowing us to support the full range of products and performance needs of our customers.
What advantages does it bring to manufacturers and end users? For manufacturers, LumaPeel is designed to deliver reliable machine performance and strong, consistent seals. Compared with adhesive systems, which tend to have a much narrower seal window and greater variation in peel strength,
LumaPeel
offers more efficient
processing on packaging lines. From a usability standpoint, LumaPeel maintains the qualities that sterile field professionals rely on – an intuitive, repeatable and safe pack. It delivers confidence in aseptic transfer of the device. Importantly, the seal transfer provides a clear visual cue to evaluate seal integrity. LumaPeel’s seal transfer is comparable to that of a heat seal coating, giving the end user assurance there has been no breach in the sterile barrier.
You mentioned that peelable sealants need to strike a balance between strength and peelability. How is that balance achieved? It comes down to careful formulation and testing. Whether it’s an adhesive coating or a film-based sealant like LumaPeel, we optimise for adhesive strength, cohesive strength and peel performance. Too strong, and the package becomes difficult to open in the sterile field. Too weak, and the sterile barrier can fail. Our R&D teams adjust the material properties to ensure the peel is consistent, while still delivering on sterility and durability throughout sterilisation, shipping and handling.
Do you have any final thoughts for packaging professionals? I would say, never underestimate the importance of the science that goes into formulating and designing a sterile barrier packaging system. The purpose of medical packaging is to protect and preserve, doing that well requires an understanding of all elements. Not just the materials themselves, but also the packaging equipment, sealing conditions, storage and handling environments. As material manufacturers, our goal is to design solutions that perform reliably across a broad range of conditions. Peelable sealants may seem like a small part of the package, but they play a big role in ensuring patient safety. ●
Reliable sealing with Oliver’s new peelable technology: LumaPeel.
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www.oliverhcp.com
www.medicaldevice-developments.com
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