New Super-Soft TPE Spurs Medical Application Development

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Major manufacturers of medical devices and personal care products have already initiated commercial development programs for a "super-soft" thermoplast ic elastomer (TPE) introduced as a developmental material only six months ago at MD&M East 97, it was announced today by the Teknor Apex Company during MD&M West. At its exhibit, Teknor Apex demonstrated the unique properties of the new medical-grade com pound, which is now available in commercial quantities.

Based on 21 CFR-listed feedstocks only, Tekron (registered trademark) 96-E0807A-03NT has a Shore A Hardness of 3, which makes it the softest TPE now available in the U.S., and provides elongation values up to 1100%. The material exhibits a smooth, dry-t o-the-touch surface and costs less than latex rubber while providing greater optical transparency and eliminating the potential for allergic reactions caused by patient contact with latex medical products.

"Teknor Apex has received hundreds of inquiries on our ‘super-soft’ TPE alloy from medical device and appliance manufacturers, many of which are now developing products that tap the new capabilities of this unusual material," said Peter M. Galland, Indust ry Manager for Specialty Compounds. "A common element of some of these initial applications is enhanced patient comfort afforded by its pleasant ‘feel,’conformability to body contours, and fluid barrier properties."

Galland noted that Tekron 96-E0807A-03NT is currently being evaluated in both
injection molded and extruded applications, where it can be formed into thin films that do not "stress whiten" when stretched. "The material can be stretched to over ten times its initial size and return to that shape without tearing or losing transpare ncy, a problem with many polyolefin-based compounds," he said. "It also processes well as a coating material on various substrates."