Actega DS recommends the Provamed 3150, 3160 and 3170 TL TPE compounds for the manufacture of valves and the surrounding sealing lips of FFP masks. The translucent TPE compounds are distinguished by their particular compatibility with skin, good sealing properties, and flexibility accompanied by their media resistance. In the manufacture of masks, often in a dual-component process, a particular adhesion is required on the part of the hard component – often made of PP – with the resilient component made of TPE. The highly-adhesive TPE produced by Actega DS can guarantee such bonding.
Masks with connectors and respiratory tubes are used in the area of emergency care. Often made from PVC, the tube needs to be firmly adhered to the mask. Provamed 1345 TP and Provamed 1360 TP have the potential to be bonded to PVC using standard MEK and THF solvents. The company said that these TPE are also distinguished by a balanced degree of flexibility, resistance to bending, and rigidity. They can be sterilised by means of Gamma radiation or ETO gas without impairing their material properties and display very good adhesion, particularly to polystyrene, ABS, and PVC, features which are also important in the general area of medical tube systems.
Single-lumen tubes and monolayer tubes are used for transporting liquids and drugs during infusion, enteral and parenteral nutrition, in urology, and endoscopy. Multi-lumen or multi-layer tubes are used in emergency dialysis, as central venous catheters, in urology, and for fluid drainage. The areas of application for tubes in multi-layer design can include infusion lines and filling tubes for bag systems, pressure lines for angiography, administration of medication in oncology, and highly-flexible working channels with low sliding friction coefficients in endoscopy. Reinforced tubes can be used as respiration tubes. Materials for these applications have to fulfil a number of strict requirements such as: Interactions between tube material and pharmaceutical or endogenous substances should be avoide. There must be no interaction with the plastic. The absorption of medication must be avoided, and the material must be resistant to media in every aspect. Other important aspects include the biocompatibility of the material in accordance with ISO 10993, its sterilisability using standard methods, transparency, and resistance to bending. Actega DS says that Provamed TPE compounds consistently satisfy this property profile.