GLS (McHenry, IL), acquired in January by PolyOne, recently launched a portfolio of specialty Versaflex TPEs engineered for dynamic-seal gaskets and static-seal stoppers for the healthcare industry. The company says this is the first component of a complete, phthalate-free fluid delivery packaging platform that will leverage the enhanced performance, design flexibility, and -systems cost benefits of TPEs vs. traditional thermoset elastomers. These new materials will support regulatory and eco-initiatives by avoiding halogens, polynuclear aromatics (PNAs), nitrosamines, 2-MBT, and other controversial additives.

“Patient safety heads the list of concerns in today’s healthcare market, and GLS TPEs for fluid delivery systems can help ensure this,” says Joe Kutka, technology launch manager at GLS. “They feature exceptional cleanliness, low permeation, leachables and extractables, and no potentially harmful additives, besides having highly effective sealing performance to safeguard the integrity of medical fluids. They are also ideal for overmolding onto polyolefins to avoid points of failure from discrete components.”

GLS’s TPE portfolio for gaskets and stoppers includes four new grades, each of which can be customized for specific application requirements and meet the requirements of United States Pharmacopeia (USP) Class IV and International Organization of Standards (ISO) 10993, plus European Pharmacopeia and USP standards for extractables. There are two gasketing grades for applications such as drug storage seals, one of which can be autoclaved. Both static sealing grades for stoppers are autoclavable, and are said to feature excellent oxygen and moisture barrier properties and reseal performance for IV bottles, blood collection containers, and medical vials.—MM