New levels of softness
PHOTO: Test plaques showing clarity and softness of Medalist MD-447 elastomer
A transparent medical elastomer gel available in free-flowing pellets is the softest compound yet in Teknor Apex Company’ Medalist® product range, enabling designers to achieve added comfort in skin-contact and other sensitive applications requiring moulded-in seal areas or cushions.
Medalist MD-447 is so ultra-soft that it could not be measured accurately on the Shore A hardness scale used for other Medalist elastomers, the softest of which has a Shore A rating of 5. Subjected to the Shore OO test for ultra-soft materials, the new compound has a rating of 25. The accompanying table lists key physical properties of Medalist MD-447.
The new compound avoids handling problems sometimes posed by exceedingly soft materials in pellet form. Teknor Apex has experience with gel elastomers used commercially in non-medical applications and has applied that experience to formulate a gel that achieves new levels of softness yet flows freely in pellet form and is readily processed in standard injection moulding machines.
Based on a standard hydrogenated styrenic block copolymer, Medalist MD-447 is free of latex, phthalates, or animal-derived components, and complies with FDA, California Proposition 65, CONEG, and REACH requirements for medical applications.
