1.    new pet oblongs             2.    mini tubing shrink bags           3.    squeezable tubes dispensing testing     4.    inventors develop biodegradable polymer blends        5.    biodegradable phb with nanoparticles resolves brittle problem                                                          new pet oblongs  st. louis, mobased alpha packaginga leading manufacturer of high density polyethylene hdpe and polyethylene terephthalate pet bottles and jars for the nutritional, pharmaceutical, personal care and niche food and beverage marketshas added several new lines of pet narrowneck oblong bottles to its stock packaging lines for the personal care industry. the new oblongs include pet drug oblongs in 2ounce and 6ounce sizes, and a 16ounce500ml narrowneck pet oblong.  alphas line of drug oblongs features a sloped shoulder and straight sides. a large, flat label panel area provides ample space for product information or branding. the 2ounce size has a 20mm neck with a special finish that accepts both a 20400 and 20410 closure. the 6ounce style features a 24400 neck finish.  the 16ounce500ml pet oblong features a different shoulder style that is more rounded at the top and sides. this bottle has a 28400 neck finish, and is currently stocked in clear. more information at  www.alphap.com.mini tubing shrink bags cryovac packaging and cryovac food solutions, business units of sealed air and global leaders in innovative flexible and rigid packaging materials has released its new cryovac mt2140 and mt2144 mini tubing bags. the bags can be used manually, or on existing bag loaders with no modifications have superior optics brightness and transparency and very high shrink properties standard and medium mechanical resistance due to stronger seals improved pack integrity vs. thermoforming packs and nonshrink pouches, due to their excellent sealability and have a high barrier for improved shelf life.  specifically designed for the packaging of narrow and long fresh and processed meat products, the new bags designed primarily for industrial units of fresh and cured pork loins. more information at www.sealedairemea.com.  squeezable tubes dispensing testing in design engineering for squeezable tubes and flexible packaging, habits of how people dispense product can now be evaluated quantitatively with tactilus surface pressure mapping technology from madison, njbased sensor products inc., a world leader in the manufacture and distribution of tactile pressure sensing solutions.  tactilus tube testing sensor system is a valuable aid in r&d and quality control for evaluation of how and where a tube fatigues as well as when labels or appliqus delaminatetesting that can aid in the functionality and ergonomics of a product by improving the grip and contact area for both user and container.  comprises a matrixbased tactile surface sensor element, software and electronic hub that plugs right into any windowscompatible pc, the sensor records and interprets pressure distribution and magnitude between two contacting surfaces. an electronic hub transmits the data into a windowsbased software tool kit creating a pressure profile that accurately illustrates exactly where and how much force is being applied. more information att www.sensorprod.com.inventors develop biodegradable polymer blends kishan khemani and simon k. hodson, both of santa barbara, calif., and harald schmidt of emmerich, germany, have developed biodegradable films and sheets. according to the u.s. patent & trademark office biodegradable polymer blends suitable for laminate coatings, wraps and other packaging materials are manufactured from at least one hard biopolymer and at least one soft biopolymer. hard biopolymers tend to be more brittle and rigid and typically have a glass transition temperature greater than about 10 degree celsius c soft biopolymers tend to be more flexible and pliable and typically have a glass transition temperature less than about 0 degree c. while hard and soft polymers each possess certain intrinsic benefits, certain blends of hard and soft polymers have been discovered which possess synergistic properties superior to those of either hard or soft polymers by themselves.   biodegradable phb with nanoparticles resolves brittle problem polyhydroxybutyrate phb modified with clay nanoparticles could be the next wave in the biodegradable plastics market. in a study scientists in new york report they have developed a new biodegradable nanohybrid plastic that can be engineered to decompose faster than the existing plastics used in everything from soft drink bottles to medical implants. the new nanoengineered plastic might provide additional competition in a market that is ramping up to meet the demands posed by environmentally conscious consumers and eu waste regulations.phb has been widely hailed as a green alternative to petroleumbased plastic for use in packaging, agricultural and biomedical applications, state emmanuel giannelis and his two colleagues, who are engineering and food scientists at cornell university.however although phb has been commercially available since the 1980s, the plastic has had limited use because of its brittleness and unpredictable biodegradation rates. some companies predict that the biodegradable packaging market will grow by about 20 per cent a year. the materials are seen as an alternative to petroleumbased packaging such as the widelyused polyethylene terephthalate pet.this year, cargill announced it was teaming up with japanbased teijin to produce polylactic acid pla. a similar alliance has been formed between dupont and plantic. materials such as pla are made from a variety of plants.  to produce pla manufacturers use a chemical polymerisation process to transform renewable raw materials such as corn into a biodegradable biopolymer. meanwhile biodegradable polymers such as polyhydroxyalkanoates pha, phv and phb are produced by the actions of genetically modified microorganisms.the cornell study was published in the november issue of american chemical societys biomacromolecules, a bimonthly journal. it is available here httppubs.acs.orgcgibinsample.cgibomaf620078i11htmlbm700500t.html.  dec. 4, 2007, www.packagingdigest.com   packaging news to sharehave the packaging news, innovations, new products to share with readers, please email to news@packagingconnections.com                                                                                                                                                                                                                  press releasestechnical papers packaging savings how to score better with corrugated reductions www.packagingconnections.comdownloadsdownload125.pdf     happy packaging & merry christmas sandeep goyalwww.packagingconnections.com
