Eastman Chemical Company announced it will expand its portfolio of Eastman Medical Polymers with the launch of Eastman Tritan copolyester MP100 for rigid medical packaging in the European market.Eastman Tritan copolyester MP100, an enhanced-performance polymer for rigid medical packaging, maintains all the same properties that have made Eastar™ copolyester 6763 the industry standard for rigid medical packaging, including chemical resistance, clarity and toughness. In addition, it provides a balance of design, processing and performance advantages through higher heat resistance, greater inherent toughness and exceptional post-sterilization clarity compared with other polymers.
“Eastman Chemical Company is well-known for the benefits Eastar copolyester 6763 has offered to the marketplace for the past 20 years,” said Theo Wubbels, medical market development manager for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Eastman. “By continuing to leverage our industry understanding, along with extensive design, engineering and manufacturing expertise, Eastman provides practical material solutions that help its customers shape what’s next in rigid medical packaging. The addition of Eastman Tritan copolyester MP100 allows us to strengthen our offering for customers in the rigid medical packaging market and satisfy unmet needs in certain segments.”
The high heat resistance of Eastman Tritan copolyester MP100 provides sterilization and durability advantages to meet growing market demands. Tritan allows higher sterilization chamber temperatures, allowing faster ethylene oxide (EtO) cycle times and a reduced risk of warping and sticking. The material’s heat resistance permits more rapid accelerated-aging protocols that result in faster validation and more reliable shelf-life qualifications, reducing time and labor. Plus, the higher heat resistance of Tritan reduces the impact of aging and increases a package’s shelf life compared with other materials.
The toughness and design flexibility of Eastman Tritan copolyester MP100 ensures the protection of sterilized contents against damage and breach of sterile barrier. Tritan provides sustainability advantages by offering the potential for package redesign for lightweighting and downgauging to reduce thickness and therefore use less source material. As a result, energy usage, shipping costs, and secondary packaging may be reduced for an improved environmental footprint.
Leading European manufacturers, Vitasheet Carolex and Velfor Group, have begun trialing Eastman Tritan copolyester MP100 for rigid medical packaging.
“We’ve found that rigid medical packaging made with Eastman Tritan copolyester passes demanding drop test validation, meets our company’s high-quality standards and fulfills our customer’s demands for durable, reliable packaging,” said François Bonnier, medical sales director, Velfor Group.
Compared with other competitive materials, Eastman Tritan copolyester MP100 also provides outstanding post-sterilization clarity and color. It quickly returns to glasslike transparency and original color after gamma sterilization to provide a high-quality appearance throughout a package’s life cycle.
Eastman Tritan copolyester MP100 offers extruding and processing properties that are similar to Eastar™ copolyester 6763. It also can be thermoformed with less wasted material and time because the material does not stress-whiten, or increase particulate or angel hair compared to sheet made with other polymers.
The introduction of Eastman Tritan copolyester MP100 in Europe follows the 2010 introduction of the material in the United States, and the 2009 introduction of medical-grade Tritan for molded medical devices and blends for housings. Eastman has been committed to the long-term needs of the medical industry for more than 65 years and is a reliable supplier of medical-grade polymers for functional rigid medical packaging and medical-device applications.
