Diofan®: Protecting pharmaceuticals from harm
Labels on medicine packages often say “keep away from moisture”, but do you know why? It’s because the active molecules contained in pharmaceutical drugs tend to be sensitive to moisture, and often to oxygen as well.
Protecting those molecules from both of these elements is crucial to ensure that the medicine we take delivers the full effect it is designed to provide. This is why pharmaceutical companies increasingly rely on packaging solutions that offer a truly reliable barrier, like high barrier films.
Ultra protective pharma packaging
High barrier films provide this protection when applied to the plastic blisters used in pharmaceutical packaging. Syensqo’s Diofan® products, including our highest barrier polymer Diofan® Super B, help answer this need. The products are supplied as liquid and used to coat the film during the blister pack manufacturing process.
“Diofan® is more than a standard high barrier solution, it is an ultra-barrier, providing protection against both moisture and oxygen,” says Federico Baruffi, Global Marketing Manager for Packaging at Syensqo. “It can also help reduce cost and complexity for pharma packaging manufacturers compared to other polymeric barrier solutions, because they don’t need to combine several polymers in order to achieve full protection.”
This versatility also means the product can be applied in several superimposed coats when required.
“Diofan® basically allows you to achieve customized barrier protection according to the molecule you’re looking to protect,” explains Federico. “This flexibility is particularly useful when adapting pharmaceutical packaging to different climatic zones.”
By preventing exposure to air and water, Diofan® plays a crucial role in preserving drug efficacy, especially for treatments addressing acute or chronic illnesses.
“If they come into contact with moisture, and increasingly with oxygen too, the active molecules contained in medicines can lose their potency,” adds Federico. “The protection Diofan® provides makes sure patients get the benefits for which the molecules were developed. In this way, we indirectly contribute to saving or improving many lives.”
The protection Diofan® provides makes sure patients get the benefits for which pharmaceutical molecules were developed, therefore indirectly contributing to saving or improving many lives.
A packaging solution for more natural medicines
It is estimated that, among all the materials used for pharmaceutical packaging worldwide, one in four blisters employs Diofan®.
“We’re talking billions of blisters, as they are in pretty much everyone’s medicine cabinet,” says Federico.
At the same time, pharmaceutical products are becoming increasingly sensitive to moisture and oxygen because their active ingredients are increasingly bio-based. Naturally derived molecules are often less resistant than synthetic ones, which makes effective barrier protection even more critical. Diofan® helps the pharmaceutical industry respond to this broader trend toward more natural solutions, a shift that also affects sectors such as food and personal care.
Effective healthcare solutions that improve quality of life
There are several additional benefits of using Diofan® that pharma packaging solution providers value. The material supports the move toward unit blister protection, which improves product safety and intake monitoring compared to pills stored in bottles. It also allows for transparency and optimized blister size, unlike aluminum-based packaging. Together, these advantages help ensure that medicines remain insulated from the external environment until the moment the patient takes them.
With ultra-high polymer barriers, along with other materials and solutions for long-term implants, medical devices and hemodialysis membranes, Syensqo contributes to advancing safer, more effective healthcare solutions to improve quality of life.
