For better or worse, broad movements to eliminate DEHP and phthalates from medical devices (and other products as well) have gained such momentum that many in the medical industry are anticipating the day when they are no longer able to manufacture products that contain any of these substances. Understanding the nuances and trade-offs of the chemistries and compounds under-fire is the best long-term planning.
Perhaps you’ve heard rumblings of a movement to “get PVC out of healthcare facilities and medical products”, but do you have the full picture on what the argument over PVC is all about? Understand what is behind the charges against PVC compounds and the ingredients that go into them. Getting out of PVC may not be the right framework for the conversation – it might be more subtle than that. If you make medical devices, you need to be informed.
DEHP is a widely used and well known plasticizer in PVC, and consequently you cannot have a discussion about PVC in medical devices without DEHP coming into play. But how much do you know about it? DEHP is the most widely used plasticizer in medical grade PVC and has been used for decades without any evidence of harm to patients. DEHP is part of the ortho-phthalate family of plasticizers and phthalates in general are under attack by those that want to prevent their use.
What are phthalates and are they all alike? Phthalates are a family of oily, colorless, odorless liquids that are used in a wide variety of everyday products. Are all phthalates DEHP and if not, what are the differences? All phthalates have two ester groups but their structure is not the same; this makes a difference. There are ortho-phthalates and there are tere-phthalates; it is the location of the ester groups that defines them. Find out why one is a problem and the other isn’t – and what that difference means to you.
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