The medical device industry requires high sterilized packaging for medical products. It is necessary for storing and transporting medical devices, prosthetics, or accessories, such as gauze, needles, scalpels, clamps, sutures etc. The packaging must ensure 100% non-contamination of the product inside. Hence, it is vital for the manufacturers to use a high-quality peel strength testing machine for investigating the adhesion strength of medical packaging.
Why is peel strength important?
On the normal production line, the product is inserted in the package, it is then sealed, and the sealed package is forwarded to sterilizing conditions which sterilize the package contents. During the sterilization process, the package undergoes severe heating methods. It is important for the packaging or a section of it be air and steam-permeable so that the air or steam, inside the package can escape as it expands from the heat. On the other hand, the packaging must be constructed in a manner to block the entry of pathogenic organisms during sterilization and until the package is subsequently opened. The seal must be enough strong and durable to withstand transportation and storage effects; but on the same hand, it must be easily opened when the product is needed. As per the quality control requirements, the testing procedures such as adhesion strength test are signals of how well a package is sealed. A very tricky situation with medical device packaging is that it cannot be too loose to let foreign particles enter inside and can’t be too strong to make doctors trying hard peeling it off in urgent need. The test ensures leak prevention and improves shelf life properties of that packaging.
Applicable Testing Standards
The particular methodologies applied for the peel test is dependent on standards that must be met for your product. The standards can be internal based, industry-based, or consumer requirement based. ASTM D903 testing is one of the general test standards for evaluating the adhesive strength of materials.
Presto offers a standardized testing instrument to quantify the permanence of adhesion or peel-ability of packaging materials. It complies with ASTM D 903 and offers a microprocessor-based display for accurate test results. It allows testing at 180° peeling angle. The machine comes with a bright LED display along with feather touch controls for a user-friendly experience.
