Packaging for adhesive compositions

Abstract

A package system suitable for sterilizing cyanoacrylate compositions and providing the sterile cyanoacrylate compositions a shelf life of at least 24 months, wherein the package system comprises: an ampoule comprising a chamber comprising a cyanoacrylate monomer, wherein the chamber is defined by an opening and sidewalls, wherein the ampoule comprises a material comprising a cyclic olefin copolymer; a multilayer foil seal sealing the opening of the ampoule; and a secondary package housing the ampoule.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A method for sterilizing cyanoacrylate compositions in a package system to provide sterile adhesive compositions with an extended shelf life of 2 years, wherein the method comprises:
 preparing a cyanoacrylate monomer composition with a purity of about 98% by weight, wherein the cyanoacrylate monomer composition is stabilized with at least one free radical and at least one anionic polymerization inhibitors, and wherein the cyanoacrylate monomer composition comprises at least one polymerization accelerator;   adding the cyanoacrylate monomer composition into a primary package, wherein the primary package comprises a cyclic olefin copolymer;   sterilizing the cyanoacrylate monomer composition via an irradiation method;   assembling the primary package into an applicator having a tip and packing the applicator into a secondary package; and   sterilizing the whole package system (e) via a chemical sterilization.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the polymerization accelerator is selected from the group consisting of calixarenes, oxacalixarenes, silacrowns, crownethers, cyclodextrin and its derivatives, polyethers, various aliphatic carboxylic acid esters, an alkyl and aryl amine derivatives, and a polyalkylene oxide. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the primary package is an ampoule. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the secondary package comprises a gas-permeable material. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the irradiation is at least one selected from the group consisting of electron beam, gamma, microwave, and X-ray. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the chemical sterilization comprises ethylene oxide. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1  wherein upon exposure to irradiation the composition experiences a change in viscosity of less than about 10 cps. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the cyclic olefin copolymer is a copolymer of an unsaturated cyclic monomer and at least one unsaturated linear monomer. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8  wherein the unsaturated cyclic monomer is selected from cyclopentadiene and its derivatives. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9  wherein the derivatives are selected from the group consisting of dicyclopentadiene, 2,3-dihydrocyclopentadiene; 5,5-dimethyl-2-norbornene, 5-butyl-2-norbornene, 5-ethylidene-2-norbornene, norbornene, 5-methyl-2-norbornene, 5-methoxycarbonyl-2-norbornene, 5-cyano-2-norbornene, 5-methyl-5-methoxycarbonyl-2-norbornene, 5-phenyl-2-norbornene, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 8  wherein the unsaturated linear monomers are alpha-olefins having from 1 to 20 carbon atoms. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11  wherein the unsaturated linear monomers are alpha-olefins having from 1 to 12 carbon atoms. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11  wherein the alpha-olefins are selected from the group consisting of ethylene, propylene, and butylene. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 8  wherein the unsaturated linear monomers are selected from the group consisting of 1-butene, 4-methyl-1-pentene, 1-hexene, 1-octene, 1-decene, 1-dodecene, 1-tetradecene, 1-hexadecene, 1-octadecene, and 1-eicocene, cydopentene, cydohexane, 3-ethylcyclohexene, cyclooctene, 1,4-hexadiene, 4-methyl-1, 4-hexadiene, 5-methyl-1,4-hexadiene, 1,7-octadiene, dicyclopentadiene, 5-ethylidene-2-norbornene, 5-vinyl-2-norbornene, tetracyclododecene, 2-methyltetracyclododecene, 2-ethyltetracyclododecene, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 8  wherein the unsaturated linear monomers are selected from the group consisting of 1-hexene, butylene, propylene, and ethylene. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the cyclic olefin copolymer is selected from the group consisting of cyclopentadiene-ethylene copolymer, cyclopentadiene-butylene copolymer, cyclopentadiene-hexene copolymer, cyclopentadiene-propylene copolymer, cyclopentadiene-octene copolymer, dicyclopentadiene-ethylene copolymer, dicyclopentadiene-butylene copolymer, dicyclopentadiene-hexene copolymer, dicyclopentadiene-propylene copolymer, dicyclopentadiene-octene copolymer, norbornene-ethylene copolymer, norbornene-propylene copolymer, norbornene-butylene copolymer, norborene-hexene copolymer, 5-cyano-2-norbornene-ethylene copolymer, 5-cyano-2-norbornene-propylene copolymer, 5-cyano-2-norbornene-butylene copolymer, 5-phenyl-2-norbornene-ethylene copolymer, 5-phenyl-2-norbornene-propylene copolymer, 5-phenyl-2-norbornene-butylene copolymer, 5-methyl-5-methoxycarbonyl-2-norbornene-ethylene copolymer, 5-methyl-5-methoxycarbonyl-2-norbornene-propylene copolymer, 5-methyl-5-methoxycarbonyl-2-norbornene-butylene copolymer, 5-ethylidene-2-norbornene-ethylene copolymer, 5-ethylidene-2-norbornene-propylene copolymer, and 5-ethylidene-2-norbornene-butylene copolymer.