Aluminum foil for blister packaging overview

High-quality medicines require packaging that keeps them safe from outside influences, air, and moisture. In this manner, the components support the properties they are supposed to have when consumed.

In the pharmaceutical sector, blister packs are frequently used for pharmaceuticals. These are made up of a push-through Blister (or shorter “Blister”), a molded plastic containing chambers for the individual tablets, and a blistering film or lid film, a push-through closure composed of aluminum foil. Capsules and tablets are hygienically clean and preserved as a result.

Blister foils: a convenient and robust way to preserve medicines.

Blister foil is lightweight, compact, and portable. Moreover, each product is separately packaged and protected from all influences until consumed in them, thanks to the aluminum foil.

The goods are constantly being improved to satisfy future reliability, hygiene, and quality requirements. Apply the exact medical-hygienic requirements for the coated or printed blister foil used in the pharmaceutical industry to produce tablets and co-products.

Heat sealing lacquer for sealing the blister foil

To provide adequate protection of the pills, the plastic push-through blister must be airtightly sealed with an aluminum cover sheet known as tropical blister foil. An appropriate sealing agent, commonly a heat seal lacquer, is applied to the aluminum foil for this purpose.

The aluminum foil is applied after the tablets have been inserted in the individual wells of the blister mold. The heat seal lacquer on the aluminum foil combines with the blister’s plastic composition using the appropriate combination of time, pressure, and heat. Both are properly sealed to keep the tablets safe from the elements.

On the other hand, a primer and a manufacturer’s emblem or other markings are frequently painted on the finished aluminum foil for blister packaging so that consumers can safely identify the drug.

Blister foil packaging made of aluminum

The push-through packaging’s cover foils are soft and hard aluminum foils.

A strong aluminum foil has always been utilized. This has a minor stretching force. This has the advantage of breakfasting and releasing the medication with minimal pressure.

However, when a soft aluminum foil is utilized, more force is required to reach the medication due to the film’s increased stretching force. As a result, a smooth aluminum foil for blister packaging is more child-proof.

Blister pack made of rugged aluminum

A blister film consisting of solid aluminum foil with a thickness of around 25 micrometers () is used in the European pharmaceutical business. The medicine can be pushed through the rugged aluminum if it needs to be ingested. The film’s toughness makes the so-called push-through opening possible.

Printing is usually limited to the exterior side of the aluminum foil that is directly visible to the buyer. However, the inside of the heat seal lacquer-sealed box might also be printed.

Blister pack made of soft aluminum

It is a good idea to close blister packs with soft aluminum foil if the packaged medicament in capsules or tablets should be exceptionally safe against unauthorized opening by children’s hands.

Soft aluminum foil has the same properties as rugged aluminum foil. On the other hand, children find it difficult to press the pills through the soft aluminum foil due to its thickness and flexibility. In addition, the sealing seams of the aluminum foil are extremely perforated, preventing it from being entirely detached from the blister sheet.

Blister pack made off with a combination of aluminum with paper / PET

Cover films made of aluminum paper and PET are utilized in the pharmaceutical business. Aluminum foil is laminated to an article with a weight of 40-50 g/m2. Paper can be printed directly on the outward-facing surface of the form if foils are covered with aluminum.

While in Europe, a combination of aluminum and paper is used to protect blister packs from children, in the United States, aluminum is utilized as a peel-off foil that must be removed in one piece from the blister pack.

Peel-off-push-through packaging is what it’s called. Before the actual product can be squeezed out of the package, the paper or mixture of PET and paper must first be peeled off.

The aluminum foil used must be thicker for the paper or paper / PET to be peeled off in its entirety. As a result, the pharmaceutical business in the United States uses a thicker aluminum foil for this composite film than in Europe.

More demand for blister packaging in the pharma industry:

The global pharmaceutical market is expanding: more and more people, particularly in emerging markets, can afford drugs and thus contribute to the industry’s growth. As a result, demand for aluminum foil for drug blister packaging continues to rise.

As customers become more diverse, products and packaging become increasingly complex — even handling. In addition, cost pressure and competitiveness have increased significantly due to the increased use of generics.

These developments ensure that businesses seek technical solutions that are both effective and efficient while also upholding the rigorous standards applied to the manufacturing and packaging of pharmaceuticals.

Blister packaging in the pharma industry conclusion  

Aluminum foil for blister packaging is distinguished by its ease of handling and total protection of the prepared pharmaceuticals. New advancements in blister packaging are arising due to the continuous research and use of new materials such as new heat seal lacquers, unique printing methods, or composite foils formed from aluminum with paper, PET, and other polymers.