Eastman Chemical Company Company Profile

Eastman Chemical Company has been a worldwide supplier of a wide range of materials for the medical market for more than 70 years, while consistently raising standards for quality, patient safety, customer service, and sustainability. Today, as always, Eastman is committed to the long-term needs of the medical industry and is a reliable provider of innovative medical grade polymers and technical support.

Helping shape what’s next in medical devices and packaging

Eastman Chemical Company has been a worldwide supplier of a wide range of materials for the medical market for more than 70 years, while consistently raising standards for quality, patient safety, customer service, and sustainability.

Today, as always, Eastman is committed to the long-term needs of the medical industry and is a reliable provider of innovative medical grade polymers and technical support.

• Our “total solutions” approach to the medical industry delivers outstanding technical support in design, processing, and secondary operations.
• Today’s expanded portfolio of Eastman™ medical polymers makes Eastman better prepared than ever to help you shape what’s next.

Eastman can meet your needs

Eastman is well in tune with the latest industry regulations and works with customers and independent design firms to stay in step with – and often a step ahead of – our customers’ application needs.  As a result, Eastman™ resins are providing solutions and safer alternatives for a wide range of medical devices, healthcare products, and packaging applications, include:

• Nonimplantable medical devices
• Blood therapy components
• Renal therapy devices
• Portable diagnostic equipment
• Heart/lung bypass system
• Needle-free injection system
• Infusion systems
• IV components
• Needleless access connector
• Tubing
• Drug delivery devices, including syringes, insulin pens, and inhalers
• Minimally invasive surgical devices, such as cannulas and trocar systems
• Instruments
• Connectors, manifolds, luers, and catheters for fluid administration
• Fluid and respiratory canisters
• Healthcare supplies
• Labware
• Pharmaceutical packaging
• Rigid medical packaging
• Flexible packaging

Eastman Tritan™ copolyester – clear copolyester redefined

Eastman Tritan™ copolyester is the latest in a long line of polymer solutions for the medical industry.  Its unique combination of properties allows Tritan to satisfy a set of customer needs that previously have not been met by other polymers.

Like other Eastman™ medical polymers, this next-generation copolyester provides outstanding lipid and chemical resistance, and Tritan is not manufactured with bisphenol A(BPA), ortho-phthalate plasticizers, or halogens. 

In addition, Tritan offers greater toughness, heat resistance, and processability than other copolyesters.  Tritan delivers outstanding performance for clear and opaque devices or equipment applications and rigid medical packaging.  It is ideal for applications that demand

• Long-term toughness/product protection
• Superior chemical resistance (including lipids, IPA, disinfecting agents, and bonding solvents)
• Excellent clarity
• Retention of clarity, color stability, and functional integrity following sterilization by
  • Gamma irradiation
  • Electron beam (e-beam) irradiation

Explore a wide range of applications

• Devices and equipment
  • IV-system components
  • Blood therapy devices
  • Renal therapy devices
  • Patient monitoring systems
  • Infusion and feeding pumps
  • Drug delivery systems and devices
  • Blood glucose meters and insulin pens
  • Pulse oximiters and spirometer housings
  • Various clear and opaque parts for instruments and monitoring equipment
  • Excellent toughness increases durability and reduces risk of part failure
  • Several medical grades available – including mold release and high-flow – to fit processing requirements
• Rigid medical packaging
  • Extruded products deliver best-in-class toughness and excellent heat resistance
  • Allows more rapid accelerated-aging protocols and increased shelf life
  • Excellent toughness provides an opportunity to redesign packaging and reduce thickness, thereby reducing source material, shipping weight, and energy use

For more information about Eastman Tritan™ copolyester, please visit www.eastman.com/medical.

Eastar™ copolyesters – your confidence earned

Eastar™ copolyesters have a long tradition as the material of choice in the medical industry.  Eastman offers a wide range of grades of Eastar to match various biological/regulatory, sterilization, and disposal requirements.

Eastar™ copolyesters are made without BPA, ortho-phthalates, or halogen.

The outstanding balance of properties provided by Eastar™ copolyester includes

• Exceptional toughness to withstand stress and impact
• Good chemical resistance to withstand attack from a variety of medical solutions, including IPA and lipids
• Superb clarity and high gloss
• Excellent colorability
• Exceptional color stability after gamma and e-beam sterilization
• Ductility and flexibility, allowing snap fit assembly to eliminate costly solvent bonding
• Swageability
• Processability in complex part designs
• Exceptional thermoformability and sealability

Explore a wide range of applications

• Devices
  • Fluid administration
  • Blood-therapy devices and connectors
  • Syringe components
  • Pump housings
  • Drug delivery
  • Surgical instruments
  • Clamps
  • Dialysis components
  • Suction and drainage
  • Labware
  • Several medical grades available – including mold relase and high flow – to fit processing requirements
• Rigid medical packaging
  • Eastar™ copolyester 6763 has been the material of choice for rigid medical packaging for more than 25 year
  • Eastar is easy to extrude, cut, print, and seal
  • Stiffness and strength improve the ability to downgauge materials and increase printing speed

For more information about Eastar™ copolyesters, visit www.eastman.com/eastar.

More Eastman™ medical polymers – your polymer solutions advanced

In additional to Eastman Tritan™ copolyester and Eastar™ copolyesters, Eastman offers a variety of resins for selected performance needs and applications.

DuraStar™ polymers

In additional to the environmental advantages of other Eastman™ medical polymers, DuraStar™ polymers have the right mix of properities and processability for injection molding, including

• Sparkling clarity and gloss
• Excellent toughness
• Easy to process and fabricate – dries quickly and flows well
• Excellent chemical resistance
• Good barrier properities

Ecdel™ elastomers

When extruded into film and sheet, Ecdel™ elastomers combine the chemical resistance, toughness, and inertness of polyesters over a broad temperature range. Ecdel elastomers are copolyester ethers (COPE) that remain remarkably clear and free of blush or haze during high-temperature use in applications such as

• Intravenous therapy packaging
• Pharmaceutical packging
• Flexible packaging

In addition to toughness, clarity, and flexibility without plasticizers, Ecdel is autoclavalbe and provides outstanding heat sealability and long-term integrity.

Tenite™ cellulosics

In addition to industry-leading chemical resistance, Tenite™ cellulosics provide sparkling clarity and outstanding toughness and color stability following gamma, ethylene oxide (EtO), and e-beam sterilization. Tenite is ideal for IV components, medical tubing, and healthcare supplies.

In keeping with the Eastman traditional of environmental consciousness, Tenite™ cellulosics are made from 100% renewable softwood.

Why wait to collaborate?

Involving Eastman early in the process can help avoid false starts and limit manufacturing disruptions.  Our technical services expertise can help ensure manufacturability and proper tooling, processing, testing, and secondary operations.  Eastman enjoys the trust of some of the industry’s foremost innovators.  And we have experience working with customers through the value chain who are developing medical devices and packaging on the cutting edge of polymer science.

For more information about Eastman™ medical polymers or how Eastman can help you find the best solutions to deliver performance and peace of mind, visit www.eastman.com/medical or call 1-800-EASTMAN (1-800-327-8626, ext. 1135) or outside the US – 1-423-229-2000 ext. 1135).