Researchers Block Plasticiser Migration from PVC Products

The potential risks related to the use of plasticisers, and specifically DEHP, in PVC-based medical devices has been under scrutiny for many years. While alternative materials have been developed and are quite successful in the marketplace, PVC remains attractive to the device industry precisely because it has been the focus of so much study. Its relative affordability adds to its desirability. Now, a group of scientists has published the first report on a new way of preventing potentially harmful plasticisers from migrating from PVC. The study is carried in Macromolecules, a biweekly journal from the American Chemical Society.

Helmut Reinecke and his colleagues at the Institute of Polymer Science and Technology in Madrid describe development of a way to make phthalate permanently bond, or chemically attach to, the internal structure of PVC so that it will not migrate. Laboratory tests showed that the method completely suppressed the migration of plasticiser to the surface of the plastic. “This approach may open new ways to the preparation of flexible PVC with permanent plasticiser effect and zero migration,” the article notes.

If you want to know more about how materials usage has changed in the medical device industry during the past 20 years, I would suggest reading an essay by Lee Woo, PhD, from Baxter Healthcare. “Two Decades of Evolution and Revolutions” was included in EMDT’s 20 Years of Medical Technology issue.

Tags: plasticiser migration, plasticizer migration, PVC