The Effect of Sterilization on Plastics and Elastomers

This extensively updated second edition was created for medical device, medical packaging, and food packaging design engineers, material product technical support, and research/development personnel. This comprehensive databook contains important characteristics and properties data on the effects of sterilization methods on plastics and elastomers. It provides a ready reference for comparing materials in the same family as well as materials in different families. Data is presented on 43 major plastic and elastomer packaging materials, including biodegradable or organic polymers. New to this edition are resin chapters containing textual summary information including: category; general description; applications; resistances to particular sterilization methods; and regulatory status considerations for use in medical devices and medical/food packaging. The resin chapter material supplier trade name product data is presented in graphical and tabular format, with results normalized to SI units, retaining the familiar format of the best selling first edition and allowing easy comparison between materials and test conditions.

The Effect of Sterilization Methods on Plastics and Elastomers, Fourth Edition brings together a wide range of essential data on the sterilization of plastics and elastomers, thus enabling engineers to make optimal material choices and design decisions. The data tables in this book enable engineers and scientists to select the right materials and sterilization method for a given product or application. The book is a unique and essential reference for anybody working with plastic materials that are likely to be exposed to sterilization methods, be it in medical device or packaging development, food packaging or other applications. Presents essential data and practical guidance for engineers and scientists working with plastics in applications that require sterile packaging and equipment Updated edition removes obsolete data, updates manufacturers, verifies data accuracy, and adds new plastics materials for comparison Provides essential information and guidance for FDA submissions required for new medical devices

This reference guide brings together a wide range of essential data on the effects of weather and UV light exposure on plastics and elastomers, enabling engineers to make optimal material choices and design decisions. In both normal and extreme environments, outdoor use has a variety of effects on different plastics and elastomers, including discoloring and brittleness. The data is supported by explanations of real-world engineering applications. The data tables in this book are supported by examples of real-world applications, enabling engineers and scientists to select the right materials for a given situation, across a wide range of sectors including construction, packaging, signage, consumer (e.g. toys, outdoor furniture), automotive and aerospace, defense, etc. The third edition includes new text chapters that provide the fundamental knowledge required to make best use of the data. Author Larry McKeen has also added detailed descriptions of the effect of weathering on the most common polymer classes such as polyolefins, polyamides, polyesters, elastomers, fluoropolymers, biodegradable plastics, etc., making this book an invaluable design guide as well as an industry standard data source. Essential data and practical guidance for engineers and scientists working with plastics in outdoor applications and products New introductory chapters on weathering processes and the effect of light and heat on plastics 25% new data

Hollow Glass Microspheres for Plastics, Elastomers, and Adhesives Compounds brings together, for the first time, all of the practical and theoretical aspects of glass bubble manufacturing, including its properties, processing, and applications, as well as regulatory, environmental, and health and safety aspects. The book enables the reader to evaluate the applicability of glass bubbles to various applications involving polymers in thermoplastics, elastomers, liquid thermosets, and adhesives. It is an indispensible guide for material selection and improving sustainability of products. Related data sets and case studies complement the book, making it a reference book for plastics processors, product designers, and engineers working with plastics and elastomers, and anyone who wants to improve functionality and performance, make their products lighter, longer lasting, and stronger, all while reducing costs and material needs. Provides best practices for plastics and rubber processing with glass bubbles Synthesizes all of the practical and theoretical aspects of glass bubble manufacturing, including its properties, applications, and more Describes different end-use applications and how glass bubbles influence various properties, including mechanical, structural, thermal, and optical properties in these applications A one-stop reference book that also covers the regulatory and environmental aspects of this important additive

Efficiently and profitably delivering quality flexible packaging to the marketplace requires designing and manufacturing products that are both "fit-to-use" and "fit-to-make". The engineering function in a flexible packaging enterprise must attend to these dual design challenges. Flexible Packaging discusses the basic processes used to manufacture flexible packaging products, including rotogravure printing, flexographic printing, adhesive lamination, extrusion lamination/coating; and finishing/slitting. These processes are then related to the machines used to practice them, emphasising the basics of machines’ control systems , and options to minimize wasted time and materials between production jobs. Raw materials are also considered, including the three basic forms: Rollstock (paper, foil, plastic films); Resin; and Wets (inks, varnishes, primers). Guidance is provided on both material selection, and on adding value through enhancement or modification of the materials’ physical features. A ‘measures’ section covers both primary material features – such as tensile, elongation, modulus and elastic and plastic regions – and secondary quality characteristics such as seal and bond strengths, coefficient of friction, oxygen barrier and moisture vapour barrier. Helps engineers improve existing raw material selection and manufacturing processes for manufacturing functional flexible packaging materials. Covers all aspects of delivering high value packaging to the customer – from the raw materials, to the methods of processing them, the machines used to do it, and the measures required to gauge the characteristics of the product. Helps engineers to minimize waste and unproductive time in production.

Protecting the health and safety of health care workers is vital to the health of each of us. Preparing for and responding to a future influenza pandemic or to a sustained outbreak of an airborne transmissible disease requires a high-level commitment to respiratory protection for health care workers across the wide range of settings in which they work and the jobs that they perform. Keeping health care workers healthy is an ethical commitment both in terms of addressing the occupational risks faced by health care workers and of providing for the continuity of patient care and services needed to maintain the health of individuals and communities. During a public health emergency, challenges will arise concerning the availability of respiratory protective devices (i.e., respirators). Reusable respirators (specifically, reusable half-facepiece elastomeric respirators) are the standard respiratory protection device used in many industries, and they provide an option for use in health care that has to date not been fully explored. The durability and reusability of elastomeric respirators make them desirable for stockpiling for emergencies, where the need for large volumes of respirators can be anticipated. However, they are used infrequently in health care. Reusable Elastomeric Respirators in Health Care explores the potential for the use of elastomeric respirators in the U.S. health care system with a focus on the economic, policy, and implementation challenges and opportunities. This report examines the practicability of elastomeric use in health care on a routine basis and during an influenza pandemic or other large aerosol-transmissible outbreak, when demand for respiratory protective devices by U.S. health care personnel may be larger than domestic supplies. The report also addresses the issues regarding emergency stockpile management of elastomeric respiratory protective devices.

The study of radiation effects has developed as a major field of materials science from the beginning, approximately 70 years ago. Its rapid development has been driven by two strong influences. The properties of the crystal defects and the materials containing them may then be studied. The types of radiation that can alter structural materials consist of neutrons, ions, electrons, gamma rays or other electromagnetic waves with different wavelengths. All of these forms of radiation have the capability to displace atoms/molecules from their lattice sites, which is the fundamental process that drives the changes in all materials. The effect of irradiation on materials is fixed in the initial event in which an energetic projectile strikes a target. The book is distributed in four sections: Ionic Materials; Biomaterials; Polymeric Materials and Metallic Materials.

Most plastic products and parts are expected to be used in environments other than room temperature and standard humidity conditions. Chapters 2-10 are a databank that serves as an evaluation of plastics as they are exposed to varying operating conditions at different temperatures, humidity, and other factors. Over 900 graphs for more than 45 generic families of plastics are contained in these chapters. Chapter 11 contains extensive mechanical and electrical data in tabular form. The tables contain data on several thousand plastics. Similarly, Chapter 12 contains thermal data on several thousand plastics. Data from the first edition have only been removed if those products were discontinued, and many products were. Product names and manufacturers have been updated. . Detailed introductions of plastics properties, testing procedures, and principles of plastics design. . The only "databook" available on the effects of temperature and humidity conditions on plastics and elastomers. .-

This book collects the articles published in the Special Issue “Polymeric Materials: Surfaces, Interfaces and Bioapplications”. It shows the advances in polymeric materials, which have tremendous applications in agricultural films, food packaging, dental restoration, antimicrobial systems, and tissue engineering. These polymeric materials are presented as films, coatings, particles, fibers, hydrogels, or networks. The potential to modify and modulate their surfaces or their content by different techniques, such as click chemistry, ozonation, breath figures, wrinkle formation, or electrospray, are also explained, taking into account the relationship between the structure and properties in the final application. Moreover, new trends in the development of such materials are presented, using more environmental friendly and safe methods, which, at the same time, have a high impact on our society.

Handbook of Plastics, Elastomers, and Composite, 4th Edition, places state-of-the-art information on plastics, elastomers, and composites at your fingertips. The revised and updated edition presents all of the fundamental information required to understand the large number of materials and material forms, and provides the necessary data and guidelines for optimal use of these materials and forms in the broad range of industrial products, ensuring the highest performance from materials. Thoroughly revised, this new edition features the latest advance in properties of plastics, elastomers, and composites while providing practical examples throughout. Thermosets, plastics in coatings and finishes, thermoplastics and plastics in packaging are covered.

Polyurethanes in Biomedical Applications studies the use of polyurethanes in implanted medical devices. This analysis describes the concepts of polymer science, the manufacture of polyurethanes, and the biological responses to implant polyurethanes, reflecting the developments in biomaterials science and the interdisciplinary nature of bioengineering.

This book is an Up-to-date and authoritative account on physicochemical principles, pharmaceutical and biomedical applications of hydrogels. It consists of eight contributions from different authors highlighting properties and synthesis of hydrogels, their characterization by various instrumental methods of analysis, comprehensive review on stimuli-responsive hydrogels and their diverse applications, and a special section on self-healing hydrogels. Thus, this book will equip academia and industry with adequate basic and applied principles related to hydrogels.

Plastics Materials and Processes: A Concise Encyclopedia is a resource for anyone with an interest in plastic materials and processes, from seasoned professionals to laypeople. Arranged in alphabetical order, it clearly explains all of the materials and processes as well as their major application areas and usages. Plastics Materials and Processes: A Concise Encyclopedia: Discusses and describes applications and practical uses of the materials and processes. Clear definitions and sufficient depth to satisfy the information seekers needs

A comprehensive reference on the properties, selection, processing, and applications of the most widely used nonmetallic engineering materials. Section 1, General Information and Data, contains information applicable both to polymers and to ceramics and glasses. It includes an illustrated glossary, a collection of engineering tables and data, and a guide to materials selection. Sections 2 through 7 focus on polymeric materials--plastics, elastomers, polymer-matrix composites, adhesives, and sealants--with the information largely updated and expanded from the first three volumes of the Engineered Materials Handbook. Ceramics and glasses are covered in Sections 8 through 12, also with updated and expanded information. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

The effective sterilisation of any material or device to be implanted in or used in close contact with the human body is essential for the elimination of harmful agents such as bacteria. Sterilisation of biomaterials and medical devices reviews established and commonly used technologies alongside new and emerging processes. Following an introduction to the key concepts and challenges involved in sterilisation, the sterilisation of biomaterials and medical devices using steam and dry heat, ionising radiation and ethylene oxide is reviewed. A range of non-traditional sterilisation techniques, such as hydrogen peroxide gas plasma, ozone and steam formaldehyde, is then discussed together with research in sterilisation and decontamination of surfaces by plasma discharges. Sterilisation techniques for polymers, drug-device products and tissue allografts are then reviewed, together with antimicrobial coatings for ‘self-sterilisation’ and the challenge presented by prions and endotoxins in the sterilisation of reusable medical devices. The book concludes with a discussion of future trends in the sterilisation of biomaterials and medical devices. With its distinguished editors and expert team of international contributors, Sterilisation of biomaterials and medical devices is an essential reference for all materials scientists, engineers and researchers within the medical devices industry. It also provides a thorough overview for academics and clinicians working in this area. Reviews established and commonly used technologies alongside new and emerging processes Introduces and reviews the key concepts and challenges involved in sterilisation Discusses future trends in the sterilisation of biomaterials and medical devices

Thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs), commonly known as thermoplastic rubbers, are a category of copolymers having thermoplastic and elastomeric characteristics. A TPE is a rubbery material with properties very close to those of conventional vulcanized rubber at normal conditions. It can be processed in a molten state even at elevated temperatures. TPEs show advantages typical of both rubbery materials and plastic materials. TPEs are a class of polymers bridging between the service properties of elastomers and the processing properties of thermoplastics. Nowadays, the best use of thermoplastics is in the field of biomedical applications, starting from artificial skin to many of the artificial human body parts. Apart from these, thermoplastic elastomers are being used for drug encapsulation purposes, and since they are biocompatible in many cases, their scope of applications has been broadened in the biotechnological field as well. The present book highlights many biological and biomedical applications of TPEs from which the broader area readers will benefit.