Medical tubing and formulations therefor
Medical tubing has at least one layer having a composition prepared from a melt blend of (i) a thermoplastic material, (ii) a filler and (iii) a heat reactive coupling agent. The medical tubing can have a kink resistance no worse than a medical tube composed of polyvinyl chloride with the same tubing wall dimensions. The medical tubing can be multilayer and can include single lumen and multi-lumen tubing.
1 . A medical tubing comprising:
an inner layer having a polyolefin; and
an outer layer having a composition prepared from a melt blend of (i) a thermoplastic material including one or more of a thermoplastic olefin or a thermoplastic elastomer, or a blend thereof, (ii) a non-silane reactive filler and (iii) a heat reactive coupling agent, wherein the heat reactive coupling agent couples the non-silane reactive filler to the thermoplastic material, wherein the outer layer is at least one of: substantially free of polyvinyl chloride or substantially free of plasticizer.
2 . The medical tubing of claim 1 , wherein the outer layer is substantially free of polyvinyl chloride.
3 . The medical tubing of claim 1 , wherein the thermoplastic material includes the thermoplastic elastomer.
4 . The medical tubing of claim 1 , wherein the thermoplastic material comprises from 1 wt % to about 99 wt % of the composition based on the total weight of the composition.
5 . The medical tubing of claim 1 , wherein the filler comprises one or more of silica, glass beads, or metal carbonates.
6 . The medical tubing of claim 1 , wherein the filler comprises from 0.1 wt % to about 5 wt % of the composition based on the total weight of the composition.
7 . The medical tubing of claim 1 , wherein the heat reactive coupling agent comprises one or more of neopentyl(diallyl)oxy, tri (dioctyl)phosphato zirconate, neopentyl(diallyl) oxy, tri (dioctyl)phosphate titanate.
8 . The medical tubing of claim 1 , wherein the heat reactive coupling agent comprises from 0.5 wt % to about 20 wt % of the composition based on the total weight of the composition.
9 . The medical tubing of claim 1 , wherein the medical tubing has a wall thickness of about 0.01 to about 0.025 inches, and a kink resistance in a range of from about 0.70 inches to about 1.1 inches.
10 . The medical tubing of claim 1 , wherein the medical tubing can undergo solvent bonding.
11 . An infusion set comprising the medical tubing of claim 10 bound to a medical connector.
12 . The medical tubing of claim 1 , wherein the medical tubing includes more than one lumen.
13 . The medical tubing of claim 1 , wherein the filler comprises one or more of calcium carbonate, metal oxides, carbon black, mica, or nepheline syenite.
14 . The medical tubing of claim 1 , wherein the filler includes mica having a particle size of about 5 micrometers to about 26 micrometers.
15 . The medical tubing of claim 1 , wherein the filler includes glass beads having a particle size of about 5 micrometers to about 26 micrometers.
16 . The medical tubing of claim 1 , wherein the thermoplastic material includes the thermoplastic elastomer and the thermoplastic elastomer is a styrene-based thermoplastic elastomer.
17 . The medical tubing of claim 1 , wherein the thermoplastic material includes the thermoplastic elastomer and the thermoplastic elastomer is a hydrogenated styrene-based thermoplastic elastomer.
18 . The medical tubing of claim 1 , wherein the outer layer is substantially free of plasticizer.
19 . The medical tubing of claim 1 , wherein the polyolefin includes polyethylene.
20 . The medical tubing of claim 1 , further comprising one or more additives including at least one of a colorant, a UV blocker, or radiopaque stripes.
21 . The medical tubing of claim 20 , wherein at least one of the one or more additives are included in the outer layer.
22 . The medical tubing of claim 1 , wherein the heat reactive coupling agent couples the non-silane reactive filler to the thermoplastic material by binding the non-silane reactive filler to thermoplastic polymer chains in the thermoplastic material.