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WEB EXCLUSIVE: A collaboration between Clariant Masterbatches, Holden, Mass., and Topas Advanced Polymers, Florence, Ky., is bringing bright, clear colors to pharmaceutical packaging and medical devices made of TOPAS cyclic olefin copolymer (COC). Clariant’s new precolored compounds and color concentrates are part of the Mevopur family of products developed for companies whose applications require risk control, product consistency, and regulatory compliance. “Topas COC has become the material of choice for pharmaceutical packaging and medical devices,” says Barbara Canale, healthcare market-development manager for Topas Advanced Polymers. “It offers high shine even in thick sections and, unlike resins such as polycarbonate and polyester, has a non-reactive surface. It is also free of bisphenol-A and estrogen-active components. Clariant Masterbatches has been working closely with us to develop bright, clear colors that preserve the purity of our TOPAS polymers.”

The new colors for Topas COC were developed to work with the inherent transparency of the material. No dyes are used, eliminating the risk of color migrating to the surface of molded products. Medical-grade pigments allow Clariant to produce a wide range of standard and custom colors. Says Carmela Fitzgibbons, who heads the Clariant Masterbatches Medical & Pharmaceutical Segment in North America, “Color is a factor of growing importance in medical and pharmaceutical applications. It differentiates products in a retail environment and aids in identification for safety purposes. As drug-delivery devices—insulin pens and pumps, for instance—are used with increasing frequency outside of a hospital setting, these devices must be attractive as well as convenient and functional. Medical products, therefore, become much like any other consumer product, with color and other visual elements becoming increasingly important in design.”