Enhanced functionality
Although the pierceable seal looks inconspicuous, the demands made on its functionality are very high. As part of the container system, it is expected to protect the bottled liquid against impurities and prevent it from leaking during storage or transport. When it is pierced, the material must reliably seal against the needle or the intruding spike, and after removal of the needle the material must be able to close the puncture site again in a leak-proof fashion. This behavior is also known as “self-healing” – a misleading term, because the puncture in the material is still there. Ideally, the resilience of the TPE material – similar to that of rubber – closes the puncture site in such a way that the liquid remaining in the container cannot penetrate it.
To achieve all of these features, it’s not enough to simply substitute a TPE with the respective sealing geometry for rubber one-to-one. The question also arises: why not rethink the whole container system to fully utilize the favorable application and processing properties of TPEs? This applies particularly to the lower-cost two-component production process for caps with permanently integrated TPE seals. If the “hard” cap and the “flexible” seal consist of compatible thermoplastic materials, this will increase the functional reliability of the seal without using additional bonding agents. Direct binding to the container would also be possible if it was made of plastics – as is the case with infusion and nutrient bags, for example. The two-component solution does not require any chemical cross-linking and makes mounting of the cap unnecessary. This in turn increases the level of automated production and leads to a purer final product.
Other functions that can be implemented more easily by exclusively using TPEs for caps and seals include child safety and protection against tampering and forgery – the latter by integrating an RFID chip, for example. Another major argument is that the final products are free of metal and glass.
In Part 2, you will learn why thermoplastic elastomers from KRAIBURG TPE are ideally suited for current and future caps and closures applications in the medical market and how conformity and compatibility are ensured.
Whether you are currently in the planning phase or are already using alternative solutions - feel free to contact us. We look forward to exchanging ideas with you!