Effect of Static on Plastics Used in Medical Inhalers

Josh Blackmore

 

RTP Comany
2861 North Tupelo, Midland, MI 48642, USA
Tel: +1 989 835 6493
Email: jblackmore@rtpcompany.com

 

Biography

Josh Blackmore is RTP Company’s Global Market Manager.  He has a B.S. in Medical Technology from Michigan State University and an M.B.A. from Notre Dame University.  He has over 18 years of experience in the plastics industry.

Abstract

Drug delivery in dry powder and aerosol inhalers can be hindered by static attraction of the drug substance to plastics used in the drug flow path.  The RTP Company has initiated a series of projects to characterize this interaction, measure the effect of static build up and create new conductive plastic solutions to reduce the static charge in plastics used in the drug flow path of drug delivery devices.

 

 

The main goals of this paper were:

  1. Using known static charge conditions, demonstrate the effect of static electricity on <10 micron lactose powders in various plastic base resins.
  2. Measure the amount of drug substance that builds up on various base plastic resins under known static charges.
  3. Measure the effectiveness of antistatic plastic compounds to reduce drugs from sticking to the drug flow path and improve drug delivery.
  4. Review the body of conductive technologies available and determine the best conductive plastic solutions to reduce the drug formulation:device interaction to improve drug delivery efficiency.

We provide a high level review of available conductive additives and technologies to dissipate static electricity. Technologies reviewed include carbon nanotubes, other carbon particle and fiber based solutions, metallic options, and clear intrinsically conductive polymeric solutions. A summary of each technology’s ability to eliminate static charges is quantified with pros and cons sited for each technology.

Also reviewed in this paper is the presence of bisphenol A contained in certain plastics and how to eliminate this substance with RTP Permastat® clear static dissipative resin solutions.

This paper is intended to help the mechanical and industrial engineering design community make better decisions on plastics used in the drug flow path of pressurized metered dose and dry powder inhalers.