Why Thermoplastic Tubing is an Unsung Hero of the Pharmaceutical Industry
Precision tubing has become an integral part of ensuring accuracy and reliability with today’s sophisticated medical devices. From the most routine health care procedures to groundbreaking research, much of it depends on having reliable and sterile tubing to ensure a precise flow of fluids between sources.
Thermoplastic tubing has stood apart from predecessors thanks to its reliability and customization, ensuring a perfect solution for a variety of applications.
Real-world applications
While it is often overlooked, thermoplastic elastomer tubing plays a major role in the demanding pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industries. These tools are critical in managing important medicines often used in the manufacturing of vaccines for use across large groups of people.
They also appear in laboratory spaces, used to consistently transport harsh chemicals without fear of contamination or leaks. Thermoplastic tubing remains a safe, long-lasting choice for a variety of university and government-managed projects in this space.
Both of these applications will sometimes utilize single-use tubing technology for added safety. That includes thermoplastic tubing that can be reliably sterilized via gamma radiation during production, lifting the processing and cleaning workload of end users by ensuring it’s ready to use immediately after its removal from packaging.
The added efficiency and safety added to these processes by thermoplastic tubing means less waste and hazard for those overseeing the systems — not to mention a drop in probable downtime and cost.
Where Saint-Gobain C-Flex tubing stands apart
There are a number of tubing manufacturers offering suitable products for biopharmaceutical applications, both in patient-facing and laboratory settings, though few offer the precision and performance of Saint-Gobain C-Flex TPE tubing.
The company’s patented thermoplastic elastomer tubing was specifically designed to meet the critical demands of fluid processing with excellent heat seal and sterile weld capabilities. It is ideal for single-use applications and offers a strong chemical resistance to acids, bases, and salts.
Arguably the most important feature of the C-Flex tubing is its ability to withstand gamma irradiation — the process by which much of the field’s equipment is sanitized — for far longer periods than competitors. Using samples operating at 300 rotations per minute with 10 pound-force per square inch, the C-Flex 072 lasted roughly 20 hours before rupture. Comparable tubing from a competitor lasted just over 5 hours, giving it approximately one-quarter of the durability as its Saint-Gobain counterpart.
This precision and reliability can largely be attributed to the company’s rigorous manufacturing process, which is carefully controlled from raw materials to finished production.
“All ingredients are carefully selected, qualified and specified to achieve accurate chemical composition,” according to Saint-Gobain’s medical division. “Saint-Gobain focuses on intricate, challenging parts that require engineering and manufacturing excellence.”
While identifying the exact tubing style needed for your application can be troublesome, the combination of Saint-Gobain’s international presence and Instrumart’s knowledgable engineers means there’s a timely solution for every situation.
More questions? Contact our engineers today
If you have any questions, please reach out to our engineers, who can help you find the best tool for your application. They are available at 1-866-986-4578 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET.
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