Protection against UV light
Marc Martens
CurTec makes high-performance plastic packaging for pharmaceuticals, specialty chemicals and food ingredients. Some of these materials change or lose their special properties under the influence of UV light. That is why CurTec offers packaging with a UV barrier for UV-sensitive products.
What is UV light?
Ultraviolet (UV) light is electromagnetic energy with a higher frequency and shorter wavelength than perceptible light. UV light is more energy-rich and can therefore trigger a chemical reaction. UV light or radiation covers the wavelength range of 100-400 nm of the light spectrum.
Origin of UV light
UV light can be emitted from artificial sources such as special lamps or welding equipment, but the vast majority comes from the sun. The sun continuously radiates energy. Some of that energy reaches us as perceptible light and heat. Another part is UV light/radiation and is invisible. Our atmosphere absorbs a large part of that UV radiation, but a significant part still reaches the earth.
There, in a healthy dose, it contributes to people's well-being because it stimulates the production of vitamin D in the skin. Too high a dose of UV radiation will damage your health because it causes skin aging and cancer.
Prevent light damage
The best way to prevent light damage is to stay in the shade and avoid direct sunlight, but this is not always possible. To protect people from the harmful effects of UV rays, the cosmetic industry has developed sunscreen products that provide a UV barrier. But what about the protection of light-sensitive products? How can they be protected from UV light?
Read why UV lacquers benefit from UV-safe packaging
Light-sensitive products
Some chemicals and pharmaceuticals are light-sensitive and lose their properties after exposure to UV light. To prevent degradation during storage and transport, these products must be packed in opaque packaging. There are various UV light barriers, but the simplest and most commonly used is color.
What is color?
To understand the effect of color as a UV barrier, it is important to first understand what color actually is. Color vision is made possible by reflection. The retina of our eye captures light reflections from objects. These light rays are converted into impulses and sent to the brain where they are converted into familiar color sensations.
Color is not inherent in objects. The surface of an object reflects some colors and absorbs all others. We only perceive the reflected colors. For example, an object appears white when it reflects all wavelengths of radiation, and black when it absorbs them all.
UV barrier through color
Adding color to packaging is the most effective way to protect contents from harmful UV rays. CurTec makes plastic packaging and adding colorant during production makes a drastic reduction in UV light transmission possible. Research shows that certain colors are better at filtering or blocking UV rays than others.
Colors act as a filter. Thanks to the ultra-fine particle structure of carbon black, packaging colored with it is almost completely opaque because it absorbs most light rays. White also provides an excellent UV barrier because it reflects light rays. All other colorants offer less resistance to UV light, but their performance can be improved by increasing the dosage.
Food safe colorants
The colorants that CurTec uses are completely safe. They do not migrate into the packaging contents and fully comply with pharmaceutical and food safety regulations. CurTec has had the composition of various colorants changed in order to comply with the most recent food safety regulations that came into effect on January 1, 2016.
UV-safe packaging
Blocking UV light with packaging ensures that your products can maintain their quality for longer. By using UV-safe packaging you can avoid the stress and costs of complaints and your image remains intact.
Do you have product integrity issues due to light damage? Do you want to protect your valuable specialty chemicals or pharmaceuticals against UV radiation, but you cannot find the right solution? We think along.
