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![Pharmaceutical stoppers in grey, orange, and purple]( "Pharmaceutical stoppers in grey, orange, and purple")
Pharmaceutical stoppers and seals
Achieve a high level of cleanliness and gas/moisture barrier in pharmaceutical stoppers and seals
More than 90 percent of antibiotic, infusion and biomedical stoppers made in Europe, the United States and Asia are based on halobutyl rubber. Exxon™ halobutyl rubber is ideal for stoppers and seals because of its high cleanliness and chemical resistance as well as low permeability to air, gases and moisture.
Because halobutyl rubber is chemically inert and nonpolar, absorption of drugs or water is low. Studies indicate that bromobutyl rubber-based stoppers have much lower drug turbidity than regular butyl stoppers.
Another option for high-end applications is Exxpro™ specialty elastomer, a brominated isobutylene paramethyl-styrene terpolymer (BIMSM). It is the cleanest elastomer available from ExxonMobil that is suitable for pharmaceutical applications. Exxpro specialty elastomer-based stoppers have been shown to exhibit similar drug turbidity performance in comparison to a coated stopper.
Applications and benefits
Exxon halobutyl rubber offers a number of other advantages over natural rubber and other synthetic rubbers in pharmaceutical packaging, including:
- Chemical and biological inertness
- Low extractables due to low level of additives and high curing efficiency
- Resistance to heat, ozone and oxygen
- Good self-sealing and fragmentation performance
- Vulcanizable by low level of sulfur-free and/or zinc-free curatives
Product solutions
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![ExxonMobil Chemical Butyl Rubber Plant]( "ExxonMobil Chemical Butyl Rubber Plant")
Butyl rubber
Exxon™ butyl rubber is the foundation of today’s butyl rubber technology. It is a copolymer of isobutylene and a small amount of isoprene. The primary properties are excellent air-barrier performance, good flex fatigue and vibration damping.
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![ExxonMobil branded Tire]( "ExxonMobil branded Tire")
Bromobutyl
Exxon™ bromobutyl rubber is derived from halogenating butyl rubber with bromine in a continuous process. It is structurally similar to Exxon™ chlorobutyl rubber and produced through the same halogenation process.
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![Rack of tires made with Chlorobutyl]( "Rack of tires made with Chlorobutyl")
Chlorobutyl rubber
Exxon™ chlorobutyl rubber is derived from halogenating butyl rubber with chlorine in a continuous process. It is structurally similar to Exxon bromobutyl rubber and produced through the same halogenation process.
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![BIMSM Pharma Stoppers]( "BIMSM Pharma Stoppers")
Specialty elastomer for pharmaceuticals
Exxpro™ specialty elastomers, brominated isobutylene paramethylstyrene terpolymers (BIMSM), provide a super-clean solution and cost-effective alternative to expensive coated stoppers.
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Featured resources
View highlighted news, events, technical papers and case studies below. To see our full collection of resources, browse our
Library.
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![ExxonMobil Chemical Library icon]( "ExxonMobil Chemical Library icon")
Exxpro™ Specialty Elastomer Grade 3433
Model formula for pharmaceutical closure Exxpro Specialty Elastomer Grade 3433.
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![ExxonMobil Chemical Library icon]( "ExxonMobil Chemical Library icon")
Gradeslate: 80 years of leadership in butyl technology
Reference the list of ExxonMobil Chemical’s butyl rubber gradeslate, including grades and typical applications.
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