Do You Know the Science Behind Your Heat Seal?

Tune into the upcoming webinar, “The Material Science of Sealant Design for Sterile Medical Packaging,” to better understand your sealant options and avoid heat sealing pitfalls.

Daphne Allen

October 7, 2020

2 Min Read
Henk Blom 2020web.jpg
Henk Blom, Vice President of Research & Technology for PAXXUS

Packaging engineers in the healthcare world are likely quite familiar with the traditional polyester/polyethylene/Tyvek pouch or rigid tray/Tyvek lid material options for sterile barrier systems, Henk Blom, Vice President of Research & Technology for PAXXUS, told MD+DI. “But there are many more material options for medical device packaging—for instance, some applications require highly engineered multilayer structures to meet demanding requirements,” he explained.

One of those material layers—the sealant layer—is often the most misunderstood, Blom said. For instance, there is a difference between a sealant and an adhesive, but the terms are often misused, he said. There may also be some confusion around weld versus peelable seals and cohesive versus adhesive peels.

Blom will explore the details behind the science of seal technology in the October 13 webinar, “The Material Science of Sealant Design for Sterile Medical Packaging.” He will examine the basics of designing flexible material structures along with the types of sealants available for use in sterile barrier systems, which include metallocenes, polyethylene copolymers (such as ethylene vinyl acetate, which Blom calls the “workhorse” sealant), polypropylenes, amorphous polyester, and polybutylene. He will also explore advanced sealant chemistries and explain how sealant selection and design depend upon the needs of the application.

Blom will show attendees how to generate and use a heat seal curve. Selecting the right sealant for your application should enable “a nice wide, flat sealing window, which makes it far easier to validate the process and consistently meet seal-strength specifications,” he said. Otherwise, “if a slight temperature increase changes a given material’s seal strength, it makes it challenging to hit the sweet spot needed to meet the seal strength specification.”

Throughout the webinar, he will share several “pro-tips” and “do’s and don’ts” on heat sealing. For instance, he will caution attendees against the “tendency to throw in more time, heat, and pressure in order to solve a sealing issue” and explain other ways to approach such challenges.

You don’t want to miss “The Material Science of Sealant Design for Sterile Medical Packaging,” and be sure to bring your material science and heat sealing questions to pose to Blom.

About the Author

Daphne Allen

Design News

Daphne Allen is editor-in-chief of Design News. She previously served as editor-in-chief of MD+DI and of Pharmaceutical & Medical Packaging News and also served as an editor for Packaging Digest. Daphne has covered design, manufacturing, materials, packaging, labeling, and regulatory issues for more than 20 years. She has also presented on these topics in several webinars and conferences, most recently discussing design and engineering trends at MD&M West 2024 and leading an Industry ShopTalk discussion during the show on artificial intelligence. She will be moderating the upcoming webinar, Best Practices in Medical Device Engineering and will be leading an Automation Tour at Advanced Manufacturing Minneapolis. She will also be attending DesignCon and MD&M West 2025.

Daphne has previously participated in meetings of the IoPP Medical Device Packaging Technical Committee and served as a judge in awards programs held by The Tube Council and the Healthcare Compliance Packaging Council. She also received the Bert Moore Excellence in Journalism Award in the AIM Awards in 2012.

Follow Daphne on X at @daphneallen and reach her at [email protected].

Sign up for the QMED & MD+DI Daily newsletter.

You May Also Like