Among the many drug packaging materials, pharmaceutical aluminium foil and PVC hard film have become the common choices in the pharmaceutical industry due to their unique properties. What is so magical about them? Let's find out.
For example, some light-sensitive antibiotic tablets can always maintain stable efficacy under the strict protection of aluminum foil. In addition, aluminum foil also has good heat-sealing properties and can be closely combined with materials such as PVC hard sheets to form a solid packaging structure. Not only that, the surface of aluminum foil is smooth and easy to print, and important information such as drug name, dosage, and instructions for use can be clearly presented, which is convenient for patients to identify and use.
PVC hard sheet, that is, polyvinyl chloride hard sheet, is another key role in drug blister packaging. It has high transparency, which makes it convenient for people to visually check the shape, color and quantity of the drug and confirm whether the drug is intact. PVC hard sheet has excellent molding performance.
Through the thermoforming process, it can be easily made into blisters of various shapes to accurately accommodate tablets and capsules of different specifications. Moreover, PVC hard sheet has a certain strength and hardness, which can provide good physical protection for drugs. During transportation and storage, it can effectively buffer external pressure and prevent drugs from being squeezed and damaged.
In practical applications, aluminum foil and PVC hard plastic often "join hands" to exert powerful packaging functions. Taking the common tablet blister packaging as an example, the PVC hard sheet is heated and softened and then blister-formed to form blisters that hold tablets. The tablets are then placed in the blisters and covered with PTP blister foil for heat sealing. Such a combination packaging can not only give full play to the good formability and visibility of the PVC hard sheet, but also utilize the excellent barrier properties of aluminum foil to fully guarantee the quality of the medicine.
In the field of pharmaceutical packaging, PVC rigid sheets once occupied an important position due to their excellent performance, but due to the environmental pressure caused by the problem of recycling, more and more environmentally friendly alternative materials have begun to emerge.
Bio-based materials are one of the most promising alternatives. Take polylactic acid (PLA) as an example. It is made by fermenting renewable plant resources such as corn and cassava, and has good biocompatibility and degradability.
Degradable plastics have also gradually become a powerful alternative to PVC. Among them, polybutylene adipate/terephthalate (PBAT) is a widely used one. PBAT has good ductility, elongation at break and heat resistance, and is suitable for making various types of pharmaceutical packaging films and blisters.