Technical Notebook: Butyl and halobutyl elastomers for pharmaceutical applications

Polymeric materials long have been used for pharmaceutical packaging to help preserve the integrity of drugs and medicine. Commercially available polyisobutylene-based products are very high molecular weight products and thus considered suitable for some specific pharmaceutical applications.

Unlike other elastomers, butyl and halobutyl rubbers exhibit high gas and moisture barrier characteristics, chemical inertness and cleanliness, and display excellent sealing and fragmentation qualities. Thus, butyl-based elastomers have found success in stoppers and seals for a wide range of applications, such as injection vials, infusion bottles, pre-filled syringes, medical devices, freezedried product containers, blood and biological sample collection tubes, and many more.

This paper highlights the key material attributes of butyl and halobutyl rubbers and the drug compatibility performance necessary for pharmaceutical applications.