TOKYO—Toyochem Co. Ltd. has launched a new urethane adhesive for health care applications that helps protect against skin damage, thanks to high moisture permeability, the company said.
This new line of polyurethane-based pressure sensitive adhesives was created for use in products such as surgical tapes and dressing films for those with sensitive skin, including newborn babies, dialysis patients and older people.
"It took about one year to develop the product. The biggest challenges were to achieve both high adhesion to the skin and low exfoliation of keratin, in addition to achieving good adhesion to the substrate," said Nao Nakamura, general manager of Toyochem's adhesives division, in an email interview.
Nakamura explained the science and the benefits behind the new product.
"Toyochem uses an isocyanate-cured urethane resin in its soft skin PSAs to substantially raise the water vapor transmission ability of the adhesive layer. This allows moisture to be evaporated to the outside of the adhesive material with very little stratum corneum being peeled off, even when the adhesive material is removed or repositioned," he said.
High moisture or water vapor permeability is a material's ability to allow water vapor to pass through it. The higher the vapor permeability value, the more of the vapor can pass through the material, Nakamura said.