CA2238327A1

CA2238327A1 - Pressure-sensitive adhesive suitable for skin and method of preparing

Info

Publication number: CA2238327A1
Application number: CA002238327A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Eumi Pyun; Felix P. Lau; Patrick D. Hyde; Roy Wong; Dennis L. Krueger; Pamela S. Tucker
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: 3M Co
Priority date: 1995-12-22
Filing date: 1996-12-20
Publication date: 1997-07-03
Also published as: CN1205644A; AU701664B2; US5876855A; WO1997023249A1; JP2000502919A; JP2009062543A; AU1465297A; KR19990076587A; EP0874646A1; CN1188177C; NZ326550A; KR100491803B1

Abstract

The invention provides a pressure-sensitive adhesive composition for medical applications comprising a blend of at least two components comprised of about 5 to about 95 % by weight of a first component comprised of at least one acrylic pressure-sensitive adhesive and about 5 to about 95 % by weight of a second component comprised of either (a) at least one elastomer with a tackifying resin, or (b) at least one thermoplastic elastomer, wherein the resulting pressure-sensitive adhesive demonstrates a T0 of at least 1 N/dm and a T48 of less than 12 N/dm when adhered to skin. The pressure-sensitive adhesive composition is prepared either in the presence of a solvent or is alternatively prepared by melt blending. A method of preparing such an adhesive is also disclosed.

Description

Pressur~Sensitive Adhesive Suitable for S~in and Method of Preparing S Field of the I~
The i~ liùn relates to p~ c-s-~iti~e ad~ s. The ill~_~ltiO~l particularly relates to pl~;~aUlG ~ ' ~_ aJl.~,;.;~_s suitable for use on stcin.
R-rLv~_Id Pl~ aule ~_ aLlh~ _ tapes have been used for more than hatf a century for a 10 varietyof ..._rl.;.~g, ho1ding,~ e sealingand~ pu~J03t,5. P~ a~ se~a;li~e adl.~ , tapes c~ ;ce a b~cl~ or ~ , and a ~ aul~-sc~la;li~,_ adl.eai-~.
Pressurc-se.,aili-~, adl.e;..~,~s are lllat~ ats which adhere with no more than apptied finger pl~ aUIt~ and are ag~s.~a;~_ly and p .~ ly tacky. Pl.,sa.,l~-s~.. aili~_ adhesives require no activation other than the finger pl~ault~ exert a strong holding force and should be 15 removable from a smooth sur~ace without leaving a residue.
Adhering to skin presents rh~ ~Pc to a&esive m~n~f~r,tl~rers due to the inherentvariability ofthe l,.upc,.li~,~ of skin. Adhesion to skin is d~,,~. ..t~. .l upon many factors.
These factors include but are not limited to the envi.ol...,c.~ in which the .~;~ is located. For in~n~P, ~.1h. ,:o.. to skin will vary on the same person ~elJ- -..1..~g upon the 20 humidity. If the same person were tested for skin - Ih~,_ .an using a given adhesive in .li~fe.~.lt e1im~tes~ di~erent ~ results would be obt~in~d d~ e~ g upon if thc person were located in an arid versus in a humid e.~hu..m~-L Skin varies from individual to individual. One person may have ~ .,.llely dry skin to the point of ec~ma whereas another person may have oily slcin. As well as varying from individual to ~ ridu~.l, skin ~.~u~ Lies 25 may vary on a given illdi~iduàl d~ upon the IrlC~ti~n For i..~ r~7 skin located on a hand may be CQn~ - nbly drier than skin located on a back or face. Therefore, it is very difficult to 1- - -l-- r .,1.. . C; a skin adhesive which is suitable for the ~,,,v,..~ t;~l and for the hldiv;dual V~ h;l;l;.-~.
Adhesive c~ po- linn and ~ rull~ is also r~ 1 upon the int~nf~d use of 30 the adl..,~ . Some uses require a gentle tape whereas ~ther uses require an agg-l,;, ,;._ tape.
lf an adhesive is adhered to a ,c,.~ili~, area ofthe body â gentle tape is used. IIo. _~,., if it is critical that the adl.c~ remain adhered for an ~ rk~ period of time or if the adllc;~
is adhered to an area which is very mobile, a more a~.~,;.s;ve a ll.~ is used. The term "gentle" a.ll.e~;._ generally refers to an adl.~,si~_ for which the ?~ e~:o.. does not 35 s~ 1y build over time. The term "agg~ _" aclhc~ . refers to an âdll.,;~i~_ which has a ,~b~ cG to lifting or peeling.

W 097/23249 PCT~US96/20301 Medical adhesives are generally used in wound dlv;>bu~ , surgical drapes, bqnfl~2~s and tapes. These items are generally constructed of a backing coated with an adhesive. A
liner may or may not be used to protect the adhesive. The p. - ru....,...re of the adhesive is in part dc~ -.1 upon the Of club;vil~ of the h~f l~in~ n~ L ;..gc are generally ~vgu~d by S their porosity into either nn~ocr~ ;v-v or O~Vlub;~._ b~.L;.~"c. When nnnocçlllcive b~q~ in~c are used to prepare ~ ~n~l ~.,, or the like for medical qprlir~qtif~nc the resulting bqn~lq-ge typically does not adhere well to skin over ~ d time periods. This probably occurs because the bandage cannot }elease water vapor which causes retention of ~ ;;,Lul~- and in turn causes the adhesive to lift from the skin.
Confo~n~hility and cohesiveness are two i... ~v,:._ly related plu~,cl Lics which are each ilu~JulLdllL to cullb;dvl when ~v~,al-ng or selc~;-.g adhesives for medical applicqfi~nc.
It is f~le~ hlc for a medical adhesive to conform to the terrain of the skin to which it is adhered. This ~ nf"~c comfort to the wearer and also ensures a higher initial a.ll. ~ to the skin because the alhesive is able to flow into the skin's t~J~Jo~;ld~lly. However, if an 15 adhesive is too cu~lrul~llable it may lack the nvr-vbbaly ~l~esivc~less necebbaly to remove the dressing with the adhesive intact. If an adhesive lacks collvi,ivv strength the adhesive on a bandage may split upon an attempt to remove the bandage leaving some adhesive residue adhered to the skin and some adhesive ~v IlOVvd along with the bandage backing. This is u~lacc-vyLablv to most medical ~I..r~- O..~lc and patients.
Pressurc-sv.lbiLive ~ILcbivcb require a delicate balance of viscous and elastic properties which result in a four-fold balance of ~q-lhf Qi~m eohf C~nn, bLIc~ and elasticity. Pressurc-s_..biLivc adllcbivcs generally C~J~ C f~ U~ which are either hlllc~cllLly tacky, or rt -~I(,. . .c- ,~ or thcllll~labLic e~ - b which are t~r~ifif li with the addition of tasldryulg resins. They can be coated in solvent or as water-based emlllcinng to 25 reduce the material viscob;Ly to a level that is easily applied to a ~ b~ of choice.
Generally, when additives are used to enhance properties of prc ~aulc s_.lb;Livca~ cb;vcb they are required to be ~ cible with the ~ llC-~G.lb;LiVC a.lllcbivc or to have some ~ .--.. blocks or groups to permit h.. ~n~ blends to forrn at the mnlec~ r level. Plc~ ulc-se.~iLive adhesives have been ...r, lirif~ to extend their applicability into new areas. Tackified th~ ~ "" ,pl ,~1 ;c. f Iq-ctnmf rs have been dissolved in acrylic ~n.. ~ l b and snhs~llrntly cured. Tackified thf.nnnplqcti~ f ~ b have also been added to poly~ i~ acrylic ~l~bulc-sensitive ad .. ~SI~Cb in solvent where each c- .. p............... ..f contains a ~ .. ~-- segment to permit c ~ ;hil;ly. Natural rubber has been added to polylllcli~
acrylic ~JIc~bulc-s_.~;Livc adhesives in solvent and s ~llbC~ ly thermally cured. The 35 general pulpose is to combine the high shear ~ uc~L;~S of el~l-r~ with ~e high tack y~ r~ e of acrylics to whieve ~lhPc;~n to both polar and nonpolar ~ cp~s Furtherullyluvtilnellk~ and better balance of yluyel lies co l; ~e to be sought s A medical a~ ,; ;vc; is provided u~ich is easily ffirm~ tP~ to ~ICCO~ Q~ skin va.;ab.lilies, ~,.. vh.. ~ l variabilities, andbacking variabilities A medical adhesive is also provided which is easily fi~ tP~ to ~r~ ~ Qf~te di~.~.,.L appli~fiQnc, that is, for either gentle or a~,--,s~;vely adhered p-u~l -,b or to vary the initial ~tlhPeil~n and/or the a~lhPcir~n over ~ ~ cled time periods. Furtller, a medical adhesive is provided which is o c~."r~.. ~hle enough to exhibit both ~ a~ ' comfort and ~ yet exhibits enough cohesive strength so that it is easily removed without leaving a tacky residue The present .,.~,..l;u.. provides pressure-s~ ;l;v~ a~ll.e~;vc; c,ompositions, and, more particularly, yltiJ.,ulti-sc~l~;Liv~; adhesive co...po~;liul.s formed from at least two polymeric materials at least one of which is a ~ 7wc-se~l~;Liv~ adhesive, and mPtho~e for making 15 pl~ul~;-s~lls;Liv~ adhesives and articles having y~ u~G-sensitive adhesives cu...yu.~,..LI,.
The present invention provides a p}essurc sc..s;L;ve adhesive composition for medical applications cc, --l,-;.,-l-g a blend of at least two co.nl.u..~,..L~ cU.II~ ed of about S to about 95% by weight of a first cu~ un~ cu...l,.;sed of at least one acrylic ylt;s ,ul~-5~,.1s;LiV~ adhesive and about 5 to about 95% by weight of a second co...pc.ll~,..L c p ;~ed of either (a) at least one e~ with a tacki~ing resin, or ~b) at least one thellllol~lasLic p~ "",~l, wherein the resulting yl~ 7u~e-sensitive a~h~,;,;vc; .1~ dL~s a To of at least 1 N/dm and a T48 of less than 12 N/dm when adhered to skin. The p.~ u.~-s_.~,il;v~adhesive CUIIIPO~ iS p-~ ;d either in the ~ e.lcc of a solvent or is ~ltprn~tively pl~ a~;d by melt blPn-ling A p~c~u~ lh~,~;v~ suitable for medical appli~ ?~tinne is provided The adhesive is co .-~ ed of a blend of at least two Cu~ u~ conl,ufi~d of about 5 to 95 weight percent of a first c ~q~ l co l ;~l of an acrylic ~1~D.7UICi-5c~ 7iLivt adL~.7;ve and about 5 to 95 weight percent of a second C41-1~uUllC.l~ C Jln~ ed of either (a~ a .1 ;C r.h -.~"" ~r~t, or (b) an . ~ with a tackifying resin, the ~...l~os;lion having 30 a ~llu-l holc,,~ co --,u-;.7illg at least two distinct ~1Qm5tiTlle, a first domain being ~ lly c~.ntimloue in nature and the second domain being fibrillose to 5~ luse in nature parallel to a major surface of the &~lL~,~;v~ colll~u~;Liull within the first domain, wherein the resulting Ul~ UI~;-SCi .~;Li~ _ a~ ;V~ d' ~ ~ ~U--'I ' d~S a To of at least 1 N/dm and a T4g of less than 12 N/dm (per Skin ~r1hPoirtn Test) adhered to skin W O 97/23249 PCT~US96/20301 A method for p~ Ja~hlg a medical ~ , 7 7ulG-s_.~iLivt;; adhesive layer is also provided The method is co...~u~ ised of the steps of ( 1) bl~-nrling at least two cu~ olle~lL, cu..",.; ,cd of about 5 to about 95% by weight of a first ~lll~uncl~L cu...~.isc~l of at least one acrylic ~ u.c se.~;Livc ~II.~ and about 5 to about 95% by weight of a second S c~>,..~ullelll cu.n~- ;sed of either (a) at least one P~ " . ~ with a Id4l~iry~g resin, or (b~ at least one ll.c~ ....-pl-~J;c cl~ct~m~r, and (2) coating the a~lln~ - to form a layer, wherein the adhesive ~ a To of at least 1 N/dm and a T4x of less than 12 N/drn when adhered to skin Such an a~ ,;vc layer is ~ Jalcd either by melt blending the materials under shear or - 1 - u ~l cnn~itinnc or both and coating by forming and drawing the melt blend 10 to form a p.cs ,u,c s_.~itivt; adhesive ~~....pQ~ ... having a mo~phology Cull~u~ lllg at least two distinct c1- ~; c, a first domain being s l.,~ lly cnntin~lous in nature and a second domain being fibrillose to s~hictose in nature parallel to the major surface of the adhesive within the first domain or by solvent ~ and knife coating A method for ~ g a medical ~.c~ ju~c-s_~ ivc adhesive is provided which 15 CCJIl~ ;SeS solvent blending at least two Cu~ Ju.._ -t~ C~ ~---1-- ;ccd of about 5 to about 95% by weight of a first c ~ lu~ ~1 of at least one acrylic p-c ~u~c-sensitive adhesive and about S to about 95% by weight of a second component co.~ cd of either (a) at least one r I ~1~ with a tal,LÇy.l.g resin, or (b) at least one thermoplastic c l~ c k. , wherein the resulting ~IC~ ~UIC-Sci~ iV~ ,;,;vc ~f u .~1 alcs a To of at least 1 N/dm and a T48 of 20 less than 12 N/dm when adhered to skin A l lc~:~ult;-sensitive medical adhesive article is provided which Cull~ ,c~i a b~ ine a plc~u-~i-se~c;~ivc adl,~,;,ivc coll.~o~i~ion compli;~illg a blend of at least two components cu...~.-;sed of abûut 5 to 95 weight pereent of a first cullll~ullcuL cu.ul~l;sed of an aerylic PICD~UIC-S-I~;L;VC adhesive and about 5 to 95 weight pereent of a seeond co.n~u..e..L
2S co..l~ulised of either (a) at least one th~ ;f~ el~tf~me,- ie m~tet i~l or (b) at least one f~ . ;c mS~te~t iz~l with a taekifying resin; wherein the resulting adhesive article fl u ~ I ,s a To of at least 1 N/dm and a T48 of less than 12 N/drn when adhered to skin aceof~ to the Skin ~rlh~-ci~n Test as defined herein The ~ u.c-s_. D;~;ve adl-eD;v~,D ofthe present invention are useful in sueh 30 applic~tif~n~ as medieal tapes, wound ~lleD~ s, b~n l~pf ~I surgieal drapes and the like By proper 5f le~;l ;.~1. ofthe polymeric n~tf t;~lc a variety of deDi-a~le end use p~u~cl~ics can be ~f ~ ;~. e~1 into the adhesive . c CA 02238327 l998-0_-22 W O 97/23249 PCT~JS96t20301 DETAILED DESCRlPTlON OF THE IN~ENTION
Acrylic plc~u~G-sensitive a~ ,;,iv~,s generally have a glass transition tc.ll~wa~ulc of about -20~C or less and may c ~'l" ;ce from 100 to 80 weight percent of a C3-CI2 aLkyl S ester co p ~r-~l such as, for i . 'e, isooctyl acrylate, 2-ethyl-hexyl acrylate and n-butyl acrylate and from O to 20 weight percent of a polar cu...~u.~ such as, for r ~ plc, acrylic acid, ~ ylic acid, ethylene vinyl acetate, N-vinyl pyrrolidone and styrene macromer.
Preferably, the acrylic l~le;, ..l.c-s_.~ilivG adhesives cu...~ e from O to 20 weight percent of acrylic acid and from 100 to 80 weight percent of isooctyl acrylate The acrylic p.G~ e-10 s~.~;LivG adhesives may be self tacky or ~ ~ Useful t~ifiPrc for acrylics are rosinesters such as FORAL~N 85, available fTom Hercules, Inc of Wilmin~ton, DE, aromatic resins such as PICCOTEX~ LC-55WK, available from Hercules, Inc slliph~ti~ resinssuch as ESCOREZTM 13 lOLC, available from Exxon Ch~rnir~l Co of Houston, TX.
The second cu.--~u--c -l of the pressurc-s~ ilive adhesive compositions of the 15 present invention is either (a3 a ~h . . ,u~ l ir el 1cl~ r~ ic material, or (b) an el~ctomPric material with a tackifier, which is solvent or melt blended with the acrylic l~c~u~G-sensitive adhesive The material is selected such that it is s..rr. -~ 1y ;~ ;kle with the plG~ulG-sensitive adhesive at the use t~ GlalulG to result in the p~cssulc-s~,.~ilive adhesive cu~ u:~ilion having at least two distinct domains Of course, more than one second 20 co...~uncu~ may be cu...~i..ed with the pressure-s~,..s;livc adhesive. The second co~ u~ L
may or may not also be a ~ u~c-sc~ iVC.
ThPrmopl~ctic el -C~- -- - -r- iC materials are generally defincd as m~trri~lc which form at least two phases at 21~C, have a glass t~ncition lr-~ c greater than 5ooc and exhibit elastic ~lu~cllies in one of the phases Thcllllu~la~lic el ~clf~ ;c m~tPri~lc useful in 25 the present invention include, for ~ p'e, linear, radial, star and tapered ~Iy~cne-iso~ c block copolymers such as KRATONTM D1107P, avallal~le from Shell ChPnnic~l Co. of~r,lletC~n TX and EUROPRENE~ SOL TE 9110, a~ailable from EniChem 1~ ""~. ~
~mrrir~le, Inc of ~oueton~ TX linear styrene-(ethylene-butylene) block copolymers such as KRATON~N G1657, available from Shell ChPrnir~l Co., Iinear styrene-(ethylene-30 propylene) block co~oly...c.~ such as KRATONTM G1657X, available from Shell ChPmir~lCo., linear, radial, and star styrene-bl~t- liPnP block copolymers such as KRATON~M
Dl 118X, available from Shell Cl- I Co and EUlROPRENETN SOL TE 6205, availablefrom EniChem Fl-c~ r~ mpncs~c~ Inc, polyethe.~,D~clD such as HYTRELTMG3548, available from DuPont and poly{~-olefin-based ~ I ;c el~ ic m~teriS~lC such as 35 those ~c~cD~I~d by the formuia -(CH2 CHR)x where R is an alkyl group c ~ g 2 to 10 CA 02238327 l998-05-22 W097/23249 PCTAUS96~0301 carbon atoms and poly~-olefins based on m~ ~llr~nf~ catalysis sueh as ENGAGE~f EG8200, an ~LI.ylt;lle/l,oly oc-olefin copolymer available from Dow Plastics Co. of Midland, MI.
F~ .Y~.ic m~~r~iq.1c are m~trnqlc which generally form one phase at 21DC, have a S glass ~ r less than about ooc and exhibit elastic prope~ties~ F~ .. ;f~
m~trn~lc useful in the present ul~ Lùnl inelude, for .~ pl-, natural rubbers such as CV-60, a eontrolled viseosity grade, and SMR-5, a ribbed smoked sheet rubber; butyl rubbers, sueh as Exxon Butyl 268 available from Exxon Chf.mic~ Co.; synthetie polyisu~ cs sueh as CARIFLEX~MIR309, available from Royal Dutch Shell of Netk~ k and NATSYNTM
10 2210, available from Coo l~ Tire and Rubber Co.; ethylene-propylenes; polyL.u~ c, polyisol"-Lylenes sueh as VISTANEXTM MM ~80, available from Exxon ~hrmifql Co.;
and styrene-butadiene random COpfJIylllCil rubbers such as AMERIPOLrM 101 lA, available from BF Goodrich of Akron, OH.
These Llw-l--ul~lastic ~loc~msric or floctomeric materials can be mf tlified with 15 tackifying resins or pLqctiri7srs to lower their melt viscosity to fqcilit~te the ru. ..,~ ;. .., of fine .l;~ - ...c with the smallest phase ~limf-ncicm preferably less than about 20 microns when blended with the aerylic p~ ulr-srl~;livc; adhesive. Tackifying resins or p~
useful with the rl~ ;c m~tçri-q-lc or the ~ ;c cl~ ;c m~tçriqic are plcrrlc~bly micriblf- at the ...f 1~ . level, i.e., soluble in, any or all ofthe polymeric 20 sç~----,1~; of thePl-~1------ .;cmaterialorthe lh-~lllu~ Lic fJ~ ';Cmz~teriql The tackifying resins or p~ iri7~r.~ may or may not be miscible with the acryiic p~iUl~-s~ adhesive. The tacL~;ry...~, resin, when present generally c '~ ;f.C about S to 300 parts by weight, more typically up to about 200 parts by weight, based on 100 parts by weight of the çlqC~mf ric material or the therrnoplastic çlqcfflm~rir mqt~ri~1 Examples of 25 t:lf L;r r~ suitable for the illvrllL;on include but are not limited to liquid rubbers, Lydluc~bull resins, rosin, natural resins such as ~' I or LyLugr-~ 1~1 balsams and ~.iLed abietic acids, pol~ , terpene phPnnlicc phenol-fflrmqlAehyde resins, and rosin esters. Ex~u..ple~ of p~ ~c~ include but are not limited to polybutene, pdl~rlnic oils, petrolatum, and certain phth~l~te$ with long ~liph~tie side chains such as d;~l;de~,yl 30 rhth~t~.
In ~AAitir,n, other additives such as ~ ; fillers, and 5mtio~ ntc may be used in ~e pl~ r-selk~;Livr aJll~,;t;VG cu --~o~;Lion. Examples of fillers inelude but are not limited to inorganic fillers such as zinc oxide, alumina trihydrate, talc, lil~uulll diûxide, ~l...,.;~....,. oxide and silica. Other adlili~,~,i, such as a...ol~l.uus poly~lu~yl~,..e or various 35 waxes may also be used. Pigments and fillers may be hlcollJu~lr~d into the a~lLc;,;vr W O 97/23249 PCT~US96~0301 cu ~1~ ubilion in order to m~nirul~t~P the properties of the adhesive accul~lg to its i..l~ ...l~d use. For inct~nl~c, very fine p;~llClll 7 increa e cohesive strength and cfiffnPcc, reduce cold flow, and also reduce tack. Platy ~ 7 such as mica, graphite, and talc are plcrcllcd for acid and rhPmir~ re and low gas pe- ..- ~bility. Coarser piy...~ ..1; increase tack.
s Zinc oxide illclc~es tack and col~ ,;~_ strength. ~ hydrate, lithopone, whiting, and the coarser carbon blacks such as thermal blacks also increase tack with nlodclaLc increase in cohc.,i~,;ly. Clays, hyLakd silicas, calcium ~ilir~t~c silico~ c and the fine furnace and thermal blacks hl~,l~C Coh~,;7;-_ strength and stiffnpcc ~ tinn c.vs~;l;..l f~
suchasb~ rf.~ c7dclivaliv~bofb~ F-~O~e,andbul!bl;l"l~b~uph~ suchas 10 acryloylu~yb.,.~upl-e..u .~, may also be added to the a~hei,;v~ cul~l~obilions of the invention.
Finally, ~ntioxirl~ntc may be used to protect against severe en~,i.~.. .1 .1 aging caused by ultraviolet light or heat. ~nti5~xifl~ntc include, for example, hi~dc~cd phenols, a-m-ines~ and sulfur and phobpho-uus hydroxide dec~ -os~ . One skilled in the art will ICCo~ ..;7G that certain sitl~ti~mc call for special types of pl~r~tiri7prs~ tackifiers, pigrnP.ntC fillers, crosslin'-~rs andtor ~nti~lxi-l~ntc and selecti~n can be critical to the pel r.. ~ rc ofthe a.ll.c;.iv~.
The acrylic p.~ UIc-sensitive adhesive and the thc~lllu~la ~ic c~ ic material or el ~c ~ dc material are blended and coated using melt c~L. Ubi~ll techni~l ~es or by solvent coating. Mixing can be done by any method that results in a b.lb~ Iy hnm~rnPollc~ ulion of the acrylic plcbbulc-bellb;livc adl.c:iivc and the thermoplastic pl5,~ . ic material or f 1 ~ 1 ;C material.
If a hot melt coating is desired the blend of the acrylic pl CSbul ~ s~ ivc adllCbiVC
and the thermoplastic el~C~on~Pric material or t~rl~ifiP,d ~ .. ic material is plc~cucd by melt Ir~ixing the col,l~u -~ in the molten or so~P-ned state using devices that provide 25 dispersive mixing, di;~L- ;b-llivc mixing, or a cc ll~ .lalion of J;i~ clbiVC and rli~ ---I; vc;
mixing. Both batch and e-~ntim-~llC methods of bl.,.l~-g may be used. F x ;~ of batch mPthntlc include Brabender~N or I3al~buly~s internal mixing, and roll milling. F----n~'-- of c~ ntin--onc methods include single screw extruding, twin screw extruding, disk extruding, u~,alillg single screw ~,AIlUdillg, and pin barrel single screw c,.hu.lil.g. The cf~ntim~ns 30 In~ can inelude both ~i,l.ibulivc ~1- .. 1~ such as eavity t~ansfer el ........... ~ such as CTMTM, available from RAPRA Terhne'c~y, Ltd., Slncwbbuly, F,nglzln-l, pin mixingand static mixing el ..~ and dispersive cl -.. ~.1~; sueh as ~d~ mixing pl~ .". .1~; or Saxton mixing Pl " ,.A~.
After the hot melt mixing step, the softened or molten aerylie plc~bul~;-s~ ivc adhesiveand l~.~.. op!-J;cfl~.. -;eort~rt~ifiPde~ .;rm~tPri~l blendisformed into coatings which have a ~-,v-l hclc~,y such that the pr~,DDulv-sv~ DiLivv adhesive forms a D~ ~bD~ ly contim~ e domain and the tl~ ;c. t~ified c l~k....r ;c material or the el-~lo---r;-;c material fvrms a domain which is r~l,.;llosc to s~hi~ose in nature by p-ucGDDes that involve either shear or; - I d~ fi ~ or both. When a tacl~iryh.g agent is 5 blended with the Ih-~- ""~ ;C material or the ç~ct-)n~eric material such that this too is now an adhvDiv-v material, then either adl.eD;v-v domain may be ~ntimlouc or the domains may be co~...~ u~c. These ~ vv-vDscS may be either batch or contin.~ l$
An ~ r~ l of a batch process is the p~ -1 of a portion of the blend between the desired sllhctr~fto. to be coated and a release liner, pl~DU~ this cû..~,oDile structure in a 10 heated platen press with sllffic;r~nt t~ -,v and I~lvDDUlv to fonn a ~.vi,Dulv-s~s;Live coating of the desired Ih;. L ~.- .cc and cooling the ~v;.ulli..g coating.
Cl~.l ;.. ~.. c for ning n f~th~c include drawing the plGDDulv-senSitiVe adhesive c~ I.u~ .. out of a film die and ~ bse~ Iy c~ nf~-tin~ a moving plastic web or other suitable DubDllalv. A related confiml~llc method involves extruding the I~IG 75UI~v-svllD;livv 15 adhesive culll~GDILion and a cc~e~l.uded backing material from a film die and ~7~ DVI~ Y
cooling to form a p-vDDul-v-sensitive adl.vi,;vv tape. Other c- ntimlol~c forming methods involve directly cf~nt~ting the pl-vDDulv-s_~lD;live adhesive blend to a rapidly moving plastic web or other suitable Dub~lld~. In this method, the pl-vDDulc-s_.lD;live adhesive blend can be applied to the moving web using a die having flexible die lips such as a reverse orifice~0 coating die. After fnrn~ing, the ~lvDDul~-svllD;l;ve &ILv;,;ve coatir~s are soli~lifi~l by l,;,.p using both direct m--th~c, such as chill rolls or water baths, and indirect meth~u1c, such as air or gas ;...I.;~.~ -~ - ' For hot melt mixing, preferably, each of the polymeric co.l.~Ju..vl.L, has similar melt ViscoD;ly. The ability to form a finely ~ v.~ed morphology is related to the VisvoD;ly ratio 25 and ~ ...~ of the c- ....l~ ; The shear viscosity is ~ .~ using capillary-.he~.. :.y at a shear rate ~IJ~ G~,l.uD;OI~ b' ' g c~n~litionc, i.e., lû0s-~ and 175~C. When a higher v;sco:,;ly l1....- ~ ;c c~ o.~.~. ;c m:lter~ is present as the minor c ....po~-.l the v;scoDily ratio of the minor anll~Jul~ ll to the major co...l).~...r .1 is p.Gr~l~bly less than about 20:1, more pl~ ably less than about 10:1. For pl~ UlG-SCn DiliVt; a~ ;7;~_ 30 C~~---I-Q~ nc CO~ ;"5~. acrylate aJhe;,;~, m ~ri~lc and l~ ~laDlic mz~ri5llc, when a lower V;DCOD;ly po~ ,.iC material is present as the minor cu---lJo~ viscosity ratios ofthe n~inor component to the major cu.llpol.~.ll are pl~,rG~ably greater than about 1:10, more pl~,~lal~ly greater than about 1:5. For plc;DDul~-3_~lD;livG a~ cu~ oDilions C.~lnl.~
acrylate adhesive and t~ ifif d ~ ;r m5~teri~lc the viscosity ratios are 5:1, 2:1, 1:30, 35 and 1:10 .~,D~e~ Iy. The melt Vi':CC";t~ of individual pGIy~ ,,;C mz~tP-ri~1c may be altered _ 9 _ by the addition of pl~ r~ ~ tackifiers or solvents or by varying mixing lc -I,UG-~Lu-cs. If the use of solvent is required, the solvent is preferably removed before the c~L~ u~;un coating step to prevent f~ ning It is also preferable that at least one of the pol~.nc--c materials be easily ~ PC1 in 5 the melt b' ' ,, and coating opPr~tionc to form a finely .1~ ed .I.u.~hology with .I,.m~inc which are fibrillose to s~ .t~ P e.g., formutg sheets, ribbons, fibers, çllirsc:~ or the like, oriented in the web formation rlir~tirn in the ~ lly crntiml~llC or co-cr~ntimlr~llcdomainoftheot_erpol~ icmaterial. SUfrl~ ,.lL i--tPrf~r~ hPci~n between the aerylic p~cs~u~c-s_ ~;live adhesive c~ -u~ and the L~,-lllu~Jlaslic r~ ;C
0 C'~ll,uOII~ rcl~bly exists to ~.itL~l~ d the shear and ~ 1 dc~ullllalion present during the forming step and to promote form~tion of a cr~ntimlr~uc film.
If none of the l~olymcl;c materials can be easily ~ le~l in the melt blending and eoating or sllffici~nt intPrf~ri~ hP~ n is not present, a p~~:iulc-sensitive adhesive coating may be produced which has gross ~I;ccu~ c and is grainy in texture. Through use of 15 suitably selected conrlitionc of mixing, clo~ of melt vicco~;l ;ec and ~Leal/~L cl~;h crnrlitir,ne during extrusion, the thirt~nPc$ of the fibrillose to srhictose domains can be made sllffiri~ntly thin that ~ n from the ~ sl~ ly c~ o~ or co~
domain will not occur. Preferably, the thir,k~l~cc of the fibrillose to schistose tlc mS~inc is less than about 20 microns, more preferably less than about 10 microns, and most plcrclably 20 less than about 1 micron ~lthrll~h the size will vary ~ ....l;..g on specific blends, i.e., polymer types, cOl~c~,~lL~aLion, viscosity, and the like.
The acrylic p~ ulc-s_.~iLi~e adhesive and the Ll.c....o~lastic ~ ,",~, ic material or pt~ctr,n Pric material are optionally blended and coated using solvent blPn-linp~ and solvent coating terhni-lnPc Viscosity ratios of the acrylic plc~u-c-sensitive adhesive and either the 25 thermoplastic r l -~1.), ~ ~el ic component or the t~r~ifiP~I e,l ~ ;. ic cu~ uu--~.lL do not apply if solvent coating 1~ h..;~ es are used. Iluwc~_~, the culll~Jun~,.lL~ should be ~Id~l ...l;~lly soluble in the solvents used. Mixing can be done by any method that results in asllhstz-nti~lly h.,...f ~..,r J..c rlictnhl~tirn of the acrylic y~ ul~ s~.~iLive aLll.e~ivc and the ~ yl-~l;r, f'.l-~ .. ;r. material or t~rt~ifiP~ el~f .~.~ - ;r, material. The blend of the acrylicy-cc~u-c-s_.~;livca~ ivcandthe ~ u~la~liCf~ ic materialorf-l~cl-....~-;c m:ltP,ri~l is y~ Jalcd by c~ ....h;..;.~~ the ~...y.~--~ i in the ylc~.lcc of solvent and rnixing the Cul-lyul~, lL i.
Once the solvent blended adhesive c,~ -o~;l;.... is olJ~ ed~ the adl-c~ivc is solvent coated by such ~thf~C as, for CA~ IC~ knife coating, roll coating, gravure coating, rod eoating, curtain coating, and air knife coating. The adl..~D;vc coating is then dried to remove the solvent. Preferably the adhesive eoating is -Dul/je~;L~d to h.~,.~s~l Lcl~pc~aLulc~ sueh as supplied by an oven in order to eYpeAite the drying of the adhesive.
l~e ~IheD;vc of the invention is useful to prepare medical adhesive artieles such as S surgical tapes and drapes, b ~ ge~, athletic tapes, wound ~LCDDill~PD and the like. The a lI.eD.vc rnay be eoated onto any backing suitable for medieal uses inolu~ling occluDivc lly non-breathable) and non-ocelusive b~e~ caL~ e). OCCIUDiVC b~- L ;.-~are also known as low porosity b~ c N(...l;...;~ of oeelusive b~-L ;..gsineludefilms,foamsand1~ ,5thereof. N~ t~ ofnon-oeclusivc 10 b~ L ;. ~ ~ inelude woven sub ~ , nU~ . J . _n ;~Ul~n t' ~ sueh as l.~J. ~ .l z- . ~gl~d m~At~ri~lc or ~nelt blown webs, foarns and thennally e~l>oDDcd nonwoven DubDL~al~.
This i.~ ivll is further illuDL~ d by the following eY~mplAA. whieh are not int~nfl~l to lirnit the scope of the ~ iu--. In the examples, all parts, ratios and pe...,~ ..IJ.gf.c are by weight unless otherwise in~lie~te~ The following test methods were used 15 to evaluate and ~Ah~r2~ct~rize polyrnerie rnaterials and the IJ-cDDu~-sensitive adl.~,Divc eu.,.lJoDi~iullD produeed in the e~u..l,!
Skin Aflh~ci~n Skin ,,Ah~cirm was earried out by plaeing tape sarnples 2.5 em wide by 7.5 em long on the baek of a human subjeet. Eaeh tape was rolled down with one forward and one 20 reverse pass using a 2 Kg roller moved at a rate of about 30 em/min. Adhesion to the sWn was IlleàDulcd as the peel foree required to remove the tape at 180 degree angle at a 15 em/min. rate of removal. ~t~h.!ci~m was ~ DUICd ;.. -..- ,l; ~ly after initial applieation (To) and after 24 hours (T~4) or 48 hours (T48). P.crcl~cd skin adl.~;Di._s generally exhibit a To of between about 50 to 100 grams (1.9 to 3 .8 N/dm) and a T24 of between about 150 to 30V
2S grams (5.8 to 11.5 N/drn). Results of 9 tests were ~vc.~_l.

wo 97/23249 PCT/US96/20301 Slcin Adhesion Lift Test When the aged skin ~ 0l~ test was pe-ru~ ed, the tape sample was ~ .;..~1 for the amount of area that was lifted (released) from the skin prior to removal of the tape and ratings were given as:
0 no visible lift lift only at edges of tape 2 lift over 1% to 25% of test area 3 lift over 25% to 25% of test area 4 lift over 50% to 75% of test area lift over 75% to 100% of test area Results of 9 tests were avt;;.~ed. P~c;rc;~ id skin adhesives will generally exhibit an average rating below about 2 5 Skin Residue Test When the aged skin a~1hP-: u . test was pe.ru~ the skin underlying the tape 15 sample was visually ;..~ d to ~ c the amount of adhesive residue on the skin surface and was rated as:
0 no visible residue residue only at edges of tape 2 residuec~v~,... g 1%to25%oftestarea 3 residue CUV~IiIIg 25% to 50% oftest area 4 residue CUVI;;Iillg 50% to 75% of test area S residue cuv.,.. g 75% to 100% oftest area Results of 9 tests were av~;.a~el P-~.-v~ skin adhesives will generally exhibit an average rating below 2 5 FYslmr~ s that a~ll.e~;ve blends cu.. l,.ised of acrylate adhesive and thcllllopl~lic ~ "" ~ perforrn well when coated on non-occlusive (I,l~ll.able) b~ ;gc and when adhered to skin The adhesive blends perform well whether they are ~ .al~;d by 30 hot melt blending (F , l_ lA) or by solvent blending (EA~ IC lB) m~horlc The following pl~ UlC;~ iVe acrylate a~lh~ was used to prepare the blend ;v~:, of F~ yl lA and lB

- ~2 ~
Aervlate Pressure SLII~;IiVC Adhesive Preparation An acrylic ~lC:~bUle s_l~;liVe adlltbiVC (~F,~ d h~;lCd~ as "acry-late adhesive A") was pl~,~dlcd in accc,l~ce with U.S. patent Nurnber 4,~33,179 (Young, et al.) in the following manner: A two liter split reaetor e.lui~,ed with c....~ " LL~ lluw~ nitrogen inlet, stAin~ steel motor driven agitator, and a heating rnantle with t~ e~ . . c eontrol was charged with 750 g ~l- i- .ui,~1 water, to which was added 2.5 g of zinc oxide and 0.75 g LylLu~Lilic siliea (CAB-O-SIL (I'M) EH-S, available from Cabot Corp. of Tuscola, IL) _nd was heated to 55 degrees C while purging wvith r~itrogen until the zinc oxide and siliea were tholuu~l~ly ~ - b~A At this point, a eharge of 480 g isooctyl aerylate, 20 g lucLlla~ilylic acid, 2.5 g initiator (VAZOSM 64, available from DuPont Co.) and 0.5 g isooctyl thioglycolaLc chain transfer agent was then added to the initial aqueous mixture while vigorous A~jtAti~)n (700 rpm) was mAintAin~l to obtain a good ~u~ ,.~;un. The reaction was cl ntin~l~ with nitrogen purging for at least 6 hours, during which time the reaction was l.lu~Lol~ to ...~;..1.;.. a reaction L~ GlaLulc of less than 70 degrees C. The 15 resulting pl~ UI e-sensitive adhesive was c Illr~ ~cd and rnachine pressed to at least 90%
solids by weight.
An acrylic pl~ UlC S_,la;livc adl.e:sivc (~ h~"ca~l as "acrylate adhesive B"3 using an acrylate plC~UlG-SG~ ivc adhesive (95 weight percent isooctyl acrylate/5 weight percent acrylic acid, water ~m~ n polyl..~ ed, shear viscosity 150 Pa-s, plc~Jalcd acc(~ g to U.S. Patent Number RE 24,906 (Ulrich) and drum dried.

IA. Hot Melt Coated Acrvlate/The m~ lic F~ .. e~ Adhesive Blends Coated on Non-Occlu~ivti Ra~inp~
A hot melt ~c~ulc-scl~ilive adl.~;,;vc was p-c~Jdlcd using the acrylate adhesive A
and a th~"l.. o~laslic ~ ""~ which w~ a KratonSM 1107 alLe~ive (KratonSM 1107 rubber/EscorezSM 1310 LC tackifier 50/50) of various ratios by melt bL,.ldillg. The blend adl-e~ _ was Pr~alCd by feeding the acrylate adl,e~;ve into a pin barrel mixer.
The acrylate/~dLe ,ivc was added through the screw feeder of a 8.9 cm ~ llc screw feeder and a 8.9 cm ~ screw pin barrel mixer used for the mixing of the 30 adL"ivcs from the French Oil Mill ~.'l,;.~. y Co., Piqua, OH. The p~ u~
KRATONTM 1107 (I'PE) a~ ;VC was delivcl~ via a gear pump from an ~ lo~le~ system# C57435 from Graco, Inc. of Pl~ uul~-, ~irhi~n between zone 1 and zone 2 of themixing screw. Water was injected at a 1% level before coating after zone 4. A gear purnp 'h~i to the output end of the pin barrel mixer by a heated hose delivcled the blend W O 97/23249 PCTrUS96/20301 cullllJo:iilioll to the dic. A 28 cm wipe film die was used to coat the various adhesives and film b~r~ingc Line speed was varied to give coating thir~n~ of 21 microns.
The following output rates were used for the various ratios coated on di~
b~r~in~c AcrylatemE 1107 Blend A&esive 0/100 15.9 Kg~r TPE
25/75 3.8 Kg/hr Acrylate / 11.3 Kg/hr TPE
50/50 11.3 Kg/hr Acrylate / 11.3 Kg/hr TPE
75/25 11.3 K~/hr Acrylate / 3.8 Kg/hr TPE
100/0 11.3 Kg~rAclylate The ~ p~ t; ranges for the zones are given below for the various ratios of adhesive blends. In all cases the die l~,.llp~,.dlul~ was kept at 160~C.
lS ~C
0/100 Zone 1 108 ~C
25/75 Zone 1 124-125 2~ 4 128-131 ~C
50/50 Zonc 1 126-129 ~C
75/25 Zone 1 106-111 3s 2 123-128 ~C
100/0 Zone 1 105-109 4s The adhesive blends coated onto a nu~ v~.ll rayon fiber a non-occlusive backing to prepare samples lA-lE. The backing was formed by first passing 2.5 to 5 cm long staple CA 02238327 l998-05-22 W O 97/23249 PCTnJS96/20301 1.5 denier viscose-rayon textile fibers through a twin cylinder card (available from Spinnbau GmbH, Bremen, Germany) to form a fluffy fiber web with a fiber weight of between 41 g/m2 and 54 g/m2. The fluffy fiber web was simnl~ f4~cly c~ mr~ct.od to a tissue-like conrliti~m and sized by being fed through the nip of a pair of h. .~ .1 squeeze S rolls, the lower one of which dips in an aqueous bath of fiber-binding rubbery acrylate sizing latex (like RHOPLEXTM B-15, available from Rohm-Haas Co. diluted with water to provide a size weight d~ J~ly equal to the weight of the fiber); and then dried.
S , '-- lA-lE were tested for skin aAl~ cllies inc~ initial ~Ah.o,~ n ~,.11.1 -:- ... after 48 hours, lift and the arnount of a~ ,;vc residue rern~ining after removal of 10 the sample (residue). Results are shown in the table below.
San~ple Acrylatefl'PE To T48 Lift Residue # Ratio N/drn N/dtn lA 100/0 l.9 6.1 0.3 0.4 lB 75125 2.3 8.3 0.4 0.3 lC 50/50 2.8 6.7 0.9 0.4 lD 25/75 2.5 3.9 1.2 0.0 lE 0/100 1.1 2.3 3.2 0.0 S~mrl~c lA through lE show that the blends of acrylate and therm~ ctic 20 d&~,S;VC blends on samples (lB through lD) r~ c usually higher To and T48 values than the pure adhesive ~ ~ ; used on S--r,-l ~ lA through lE. The blends showed a ~yn~ ic effect and not an additive effect. The skin ~ .. . properties are ~ c . .. ;. .-,~l by thc ratio of the ccJI-lpo~

25 lB. Solvent Coated Acrylatem~,lul,la~Lic Fl~ctc-ml~r (IPE) Adhesive Bends Coated On Non-Occlu ,;vc Ra~ jngc Batch s<: h~ . \c of the acrylate &~ ;VCi and Ih~ CI~ were ~)lc~dlcd in the following manner. Acrylate adhesive A was dissolved in a heptan~/isûl).u~yl alcohol 90/10 mixture at 25% solids in a 3.8 liter jar. The th~onnopl~ctic cl ~""~ . KratonTM 1107 and tackifier EscorezTM 1310 LC at a 50/50 nux were dissolved in toluene at 50% solids in a 3.8 liter glass jar. Each batch solution was ;nixed on a roller mixer overnight at room G (d~ X ~ y 21 C) Various a~ll.e;.ive blends ~...~ p. L~cl~l ratios ofthe acrylate and ILcl~lo~lastic ~ ""~, C~ were ~ICIldl~l by . ' r. the a~ ~l;aLe ,....u~
35 of acrylate adhesive and Kraton a~lh~ , blends in 0.9 liter glass jars and sealed with lids.
The c~ nc were allowed to mix on a roll mixer u~ ~LL at }oom In~ c.
Process con~liti~nc are listed in the Table below.

CA 02238327 l998-05-22 The resulting adhesives were coated onto silicone liner as available from Daubert Coated Products, Inc. of Culman, AL. The aJl.e~;vti was su~;c~,lcd to a dual oven system to remove solvent from the adhesives. The first oven 1- ....l,~. ,t~ ,.. c was at 36~ C and the second oven t~,...~.,.~lu.c was at 135 degrees C. Afier drying, a non-occlusive backing was 5 1-...;~.,-1~1 onto the adhf ;,;._i. at a coating i ~ ' of 21 microns. The backing was formed as in Example lA. The liner was left in place to prevent hlf~* ;-~ of the tapes.
Tape # Acrylate/TPE solids orifice speed Ratio % microns m/min F 00~" ' 5 9 .~~
G 5/2~ 0 .
_H ' 0/' f' ~ ~'7 .
lI ~5/ ~ '.7 lJ ~ () 6 .~

S~mplf~-c lF-lJ were tested for skin ~ f~;u~ properties in-~ flin~ initial ~-lhf Cir1n 10 ~lhf si~n after 48 hours, lift and the amount of a~ ,;,;vc residue If ~ after remova1 of the sample (residue). MICROPORETM Brand a~lLci,;vc tape available from 3M of St. Paul, MN was tested as a Cu~ ctilive Sample. Results are shown in the table below.

Tape M2000/Kraton 1107 To T48 Lift Residue lS # Ratio N/dm N/dm lF 100/0 1.7 5.8 0.7 0.5 lG 75/25 1.8 6.8 0.4 0.4 lH 50/50 1.9 6.0 0.3 0.2 20 lI 25/75 3.1 5.2 1.5 2.3 lJ 0/100 3.2 4.5 1.6 ~.9 Cu.. ~clilive MicroporeTM 1.2 5.3 0.5 0.2 Sample S~r-FI lF through lJ f~ ; that the blend adl-,i,ivc:, c<,.. ~,.;s~ of acrylate and Illc~ u~ ic el~k~-, (S~ ~ lG and lH) offer usually higher T4g p~u~c~L~es than the pure a~llw:,iv~ ~lll~Ul~llt~ (Samples lF and lJ). The blends showed a synergistic effect and not an additive effect. The skin ~ properties are ~ c- ...;..f'A by a ratio of the Culll~ull~,.lt i in both To and T4g.
A f~"~pCI ;l ;Vt~ tape Sample, MICROPORETM Brand Adhesive Tape, rlf ~ 5 that skin ~ p-u~c. ~ies of both the hot melt and solvent coated adhesive c~
on non occlusive bacl~;n~ are cu- ~ ~l ~ ~ ;I; ve with a cull.~ ,;ally available tape.

WO 97/23249 PCTrUS96/20301 - 16 ~
Both the hot melt and the solvent coated p~ ul~i-s~,~;Liv~ adhesive blends perfor~n well for skin ~tlh~oion This is a~ya~ due to the s~ r~ " y initial ~lhPci~n the s.. l ;~ r, cl~. y a~lh~ocir~n after 48 hours and the limited lift ~ .. J ~ d by the samples.
,~rl~itinn~lly, the residue ,Y ~ on the skin after removal ofthe adhesive was usually s low. The skin ~rlhPo;~n~lu~J~;l Lci~ of a given - ' vt; are .L i~ - ...;. ~l by the cu~ u.l~,llL
ratios in the adhesive ' '~

F.Y~mplP2~1.. ~1.aL~,;, that lJlc~:~ul~-s~iLi~ sive blends cul.l~llised of 10 acrylate adhesives and Ih- ~ ""~ ;cPl ,t."".. blends perform well when coated on occlusive ba~ ingc and when adhered to skin. This is true whether the a~lhes;v~s are hot melt coated (EY~mple 2A) or solvent coated (Exarnple 2B).

2A. Hot Melt Coated Aclvlate/Th~,.lllu~la,Lic FI -~Iv...~,. Adhesive Blends Coated on 15 Occlusive R~cl~in~c The aJlle;,;vt; plclJal~d in F.Y~n~ IA above was coated onto an occlu:,;vc; backing using the same coating method and pluce~Dlllg conrlitinnc described above. The occlu~;vci backing used was a 76 micron thick low density pol~ llyi~,llc fikn made with NA-964-085 polyethylene resin from Quantum ChPn~ l Co. of C;....;. ~ ~l; OH.
Samples 2A-2E were tested for skin ~.11.. :-!.. I lu~,~,lLes ;.. ,l~.. l;,.p, initial arlh~oi~m aAh~oi~n after 48 hours, lift and the amount of aSIIl~,S;VCi residue l~ after removal of the sample (residue). Results are shown in the table below. The coating thi~-kn~cc was 39 rnicrons.

2s Tape Acrylate/TPE To T48 Lif~ Residue # Ratio N/dm N/dm 2A 100/0 2.2 3.5 0.8 1.2 2B 75/25 2.8 3.2 0.9 1.1 2C~ 50/50 2.5 1.4 2.0 0.5 2D 25/75 2.6 0.3 4.8 0.0 2E 0/100 2.4 0.2 4.0 0.0 S-mFI - 2A through 2E .~ that the adhesive blends of acrylate and 35 ~ - " ,o~ pl ~ (Samples 2B through 2D) offer higher To values than the pure Cv~ oll~ i (S: ,1 2A and 2E). The blends show a S ~ iC effect and not an additive effect. The skin z~ for both To and T48 is d~,~ ~ by the ratio of CvllllXJn~

W 097/23249 PCT~US96/20301 - 17 ~
The effect of the baekir.g is evident in the T48 values by C~n~ illg non-occlu:,ivc backing samples (Samples lA through lE) with occlu~ivc backing samples (Sz-~ nrl~c 2A
through 2E). The Occlua;vc backing samples show a d~.cascd T48 skin zAhf~c~r~n value.
Without being bound by theory it is believed that ICt~ illg water vapor or water next to the S adh_i,ivc reduces the T4~ values.
The effeet the baeking has on ,Z.~lhe '~ values is not as evident when ~ - ~...;..;..~ the To values by e~....~.- ;..~ S- -rl lA-lE (non-oc~,hls;vc bz~rkin~) with Samples 2A-2E
(ocdu~ivc backing). It is believed that with initial ,~.lh~ ... (To) the water vapor has not built next to the aJl.c;.ivc to the extent that it has a large effect on the z~lh~ values.
The To values of both the non Occluaivc and oeelusive backing samples show the i -~p-uvcd skin z~rh~ rfn of the blends as cu.--paled to the pure COnl~OllC Il~.
2B. Solvent Coated Aervlate/Thc.. lu~.las~ic Fl~.~l.. -. Adhesive Bends Coated on Occlusive Backin~
The adhesive ~JI~alcd in F.~ lB above was eoated onto an occl.. :,iv.; backing using the same coating method as desc.;l,ed above exeept that ~".~c.~ conrlitionc for coating samples 2F-2J are id~ntifiec in the table below. The occLl~;vc backing used was as in F.Y~mrl~ 2A.

Tape AcrylatelTPE solids thirl~n~cs orifice speed Oven Oven ff zone 1zone 2 Ratio % microns rnicrons m/min C C
' F00/0 ''~ 10 :. : 4 ~5 ''G~5/''5 : _ ~ ''7" . _4 ,5 ~ 0/' 1l J ~ _._ 3~ 5 2I 25/~ 9 ' 2 ~ _~5 2J ~ )0 ~ 9 2 . :,:: 5 Sz mplf~c 2F-2J were tested for skin ~ p-ul-c, liCs inr~ lin~ i~utial z ~lh~ n ~.lh.,~ ... after 48 hours, li~ and the amount of adl.ci,ivc residue ~~ ..,.;..: .~ after removal of the sample (residue). BLENDERMTM Brand a~ll.c;,ivc tape available from 3M of St. Paul, MN was tested as a Co...l.c~i~ivc Sample. Results are shown in the table below.

Wo 97/23249 PCT/US96/20301 Sarnple Acrylaee/TpE To T48 Lift Residue # Ratio N/dm N/dm 2F 100/0 2.6 3.3 0.8 l.0 2G 75/25 2.8 2.9 1.1 1.3 2H 50/50 2.5 l.9 0.9 0.6 2I 25/75 2.3 0.3 4.5 0.0 2J 0/100 2.6 0.2 4.9 0.0 Cù~ Lilivc:;
Sample r~ ~ TM 3.1 0.8 2.8 0.3 The solvent coated S-ml l~s (2F-2J) had slightly highe} TOand slightly lower T48values than the hot melt eoated S~np~ (lF through lJ), huw~ ,., the .li~ lws are not cjg1lifit smf The T48 values show the effeet of an occlu~;v~ backing as des~,l ;bed above. When c.~...l.;.. ;.~g S~mpl~ 2F-2J (solvent coated on oeclusive backing) to S~lnrl~ lF-lJ (solvcnt coated on non-occlusive backing), it is a~ a~ that the 48 hour skin arlh~cion is reduced for the occlu~iv~ baeking. Even the thicker coating of adL.,;.;v~ on the occlu~iv~; backing did not help to increase the T48 values of the occlu~ive baeking samples.
When Gulll~lhlg T48 between hot melt eoated samples (2A-2E) and solvent coated samples (2F-2J), the effect of ~ u~; . .g the ratios of the COIllp<Jllc;lll:j iS appdlt;llL. That is, the blend adll~ ;ves perform between the pure cul~ ~. Both hot melt and solvent behave in a similar manner.
A ~ .. l,e1 ;1 ;v~ tape Sample, BLENDERMTM d~ dles that both hot melt and 2S solvent coated a IL,iiv~ cul..~.u~iLions of the invention are C~J~ hlC, when coated on occlu ~;ve b~ L ;.~o"~ to cul.~ idlly available medical tape.

Fx~mrle 3 illnctrs~t.-.c that a cloth/l.oly...~. ;c cu...po~ backing is useful as a non-30 occh.~;ve backin,g for IJ~)dlillg tape cul~l~ucLions fo} ~rlh~rjn~ to skin. r~ 3 ctr~tes that di~ I methods of pl~ dlillg and coating the adhesive blends of theinvention are useful when ~ dliUlg adl.~,;,;v~ for applying to skin. The cloWlloly.-~-cu,--~-u~ile backing used to prepare the tape samples of F.---m~' 3A, 3B and 3C was pl~dl~ as follows.
Backin~ P~ du~liu~l The cloWpolymer culllpo~ "AI of ENGAGETM 8200 (a polyolefin dvai6ble fiom Dow Plastics Co.) was t~llu~;Gll coated onto 44X36 woven cloth (available W O 97/23249 PCTAJS96~0301 _ 19 -from Burcott Mills). White backing was p.~l~lced by dry blending 1 part of 50:50 LiL~
dioxide in low density polyethylene (available as PWC000ûl from Reed Spectrum, Holden MA) with 3 parts ENGAGETM 8200; fonrung p~ i pellets by melt mixing the blend in a 40 mm twin screw ~ ud~;l (available from Berstorf~ at 200~C and extruding and 5 pellr~ thestrands;dry~ gthe1~ t~l pelletswithmore ~ l r--~ led ENGAGETM 8200 in a ratio of 1 :25; melt mixing the blend and feeding the blend at d~ ly 270 g/min into the feed ~roat of a 6.35 cm ~ ~- Standard Model #N9485 single screw extruder (dV lal-'~ from Davis 5tandard, P~.c~ r.l~ CT) at 204~C
and extruding a 6.5 micron thick film onto the cloth with the cast roll temperatures set at 10 93~C to form a c- ~- ~ .po- :' and passing the ~~ JU~;L~; through the nip of two hu. i~u~ldl rolls at pl~ ul~ of 350 N per lineal cm (200 pound per in) at apyl~x;...~I~,ly 1.1 m/min.

3A. Hot Melt Acrylate/ Thermoplastic F~ J (IPE) Adhesive Blend Coated onto Cloth/Polymer Cu."~,osile Backin~
An adhesive ~ .. -l~;.. ;.. P a blend of an acrylate adhesive A and th. ~
e~ u. ~ .r - ic adhesive was pll~Jdll;il by melt bl_..di"g the acrylate adhesive A with a ",~pl~tir, ~ r,m~.r adhesive (~ ilJdl~id by p..,bl~ -' g 50 parts thc.l,.oplasLic 1 u---~-- ic block copolymer KRATONTM D 1107P available from Shell Chemic ~l Co of Hnu~ton TX, 1.0 parts ~ntioxi~l~nt IRGANOX~ 1076, available from Ciba-Geigy of Hawthorne, NY and 50 parts tackifying resin ESCOREZTM 1310 LC available from Exxon ~'hrmir~l~ of Houston, TX) at a ratio of 50:50 with the process ~les.,- ;I.~i in E~dl"l,lc lA.
The cum~o~iLion was coated onto the poly--~ /cloth cul.l~o~ described above. Thebacking sample was coated with adhesive at a thirlrn~c of 57 microns. 3M Brand Cloth Adhesive Tape available from 3M of St. Paul, MN and ZONAS POROUSTM brand tape 2S available from Johnson & Johnson Medical, Inc. of Arlington, TX were used asCu~ h,~, S .1 The resulting tape sample and the ~....l.~ ;v~ tapes were tested for skin ~lh~ m Results are shown below:

W 097/23249 PCT~US96/20301 - 2~ ~
Skin A-lh~oci- n Results - Sample Obtained from Hot Melt Coating Acrylate/TPE Adhesive Blend On-o Cloth/Polyme- Cul~l,uo.,;L~ Backing .S~mple~ Acrylate/TPE CoatingThickn WetTo T0 T48 Lift Residue ratio (by ess (N/dm) (N/dm) (N/dm) (1-5) (1-5) weight) (microns) 3A 50/50 57~un 1.8 3.4 1.5 0.2 3M c~ ;VG _ 3.61.2 4.1 1.4 0.8 Brand J&J c~ 2.20.9 3.3 1.6 0.5 Zonas Porous 3B. Solvent Coated Acrvlate/Th. . ""~ I ;c F1-~ Adhesive Blends Coated onto 5 Cloth/Polymer Cvl~luu ,;~c R~in~s An adhesive c~ p. a blend of an acrylate adhesive and Lhc,l..u~lastie pl~ "" . ;.; adhesive was L/~ alcd by di.,.,olving the acrylate adhesive (.1~. . ;bed in Exarnple 1 above) in a heptane/isup,u~.~l aleohol 90/10 mix at 25% solids in a 3.8 liter glass jar. The thermopl~t~ "o,~, (KRATONTM 1107) was t~L-ified using ESCOREZT~A 1310LC so that a 50:50 ratio was obt~in~A The KRATONTM/La~kiL~l composition was dissolved in toluene at 50% solids in a 3.8 liter glass jar. Each bateh solution was mixed on a roll mixer OVc~ at room l~ .l...c (25 degrees C). A 50:50 blend ratio was ple~d-cd by eon~bi,~u,g the ~)~)IOp~iaLc~ i acrylate adhesive and KRATONTM adhesive in a 0.9 Iiter glass jar, sealed with a lid and allowed to mix on a roll 15 mixer UVG~ at room L~ Jcla~ulc.
The a.ll~e.,ivc was eoated on the eloWpolymer collll~ositc;7 ~ çrihe~i above 37.5 solids to produce a eoating l~ L ..~ of 32 uli~,lu~uekl.,. The coating was aeeomplished with a 25.4 cm wide knife eoater.
The coated sample was then ~,uI,jc.,Led to a dual oven syste~n to remove the solvent ~o in the adhesive. The first oven ~ --.p.,-,~ c was at 37.7 degrees C while the second oven was at 135 degrees C. A liner (Daubert) was inserted before wind-up to ensure the adLc.,;v~., on the samples would not bloek on the ~ l baeking surfaee before testing was cul..pl~te The resulting tape sarnple was l..~u.cd for skin ~ A~lr1itinn~l1y, Zonas Porous brand tape available from Jûhnson & Johnson Medieal, Ine. of Arlin~tnn TX
25 and 3M brand Cloth Adhesive Tape available from 3M of St. Paul, ~inn~ot~ were tested for the same pl'ùlJclli~,S for cc, --l al~Live pUl~Ose t. Results are shown in the table below:
Sample T0 T48 Lift Residue (N/dm) (N/dm) 3U 2.1 2.7 1.5 1.0 J&J 1.4 2.û 2.4 0.3 Zonas 3C. Hot Melt Acrvlate / Thc~ uplaDlic Fl~c~ ..,./Filler Blend A&esive Coated onto Cloth Polymer Cu""~o~ Backin~
An a&esive ~ ~ " acrylate a ll,~ A, 1l.~.. ,p~ ic Pl~c~.. ~ . ;~. adhesive,S and filler were melt blended in a twin screw extruder and hot melt coated direct}y onto the cloth/po}ymer l~min~tP!. The blend c~ ~~ e acrylate adll~;vG A/ ILc~ ol)lastic ~ ""~
/ tackifying resin/ filler at 60/20/20/11.1 parts ~~ ~ye~ y was pl~,lJalcd by feeding KRATONTM D1107 pellets (Shell Ch ') into barrel 1 of a 30 mm ZSK 30 Werner andPn~;dG~cl Corp., Ramsey, NJ twin screw extruder with LID of 45 :1, adding a t~ifiP!r/filler 10 powder mixture of ESCOREZTM 1310 LC (Exxon ~hP.mi~ ) and alumina llilly~LalG ( Micral 1500 grade from Solex I,~du~l.ies~ Nor~ , GA) at a ratio of 1.8:1 into barrel 3 of the e~ll udel and feeding the acrylate adhesive (P-~ l alGd as described above) barrel 8 of t_e twin screw extruder. The blend was ~ f ~d in the extruder at 149 degrGes C at rpm of ayy-~-,-;---,-l~ly 400, passed through a screen filter and gear pump located at thc end ofthe~5 c~ udcl at 166 degrees C and delivered by a heated pipe to a wipe-film coating die d at 166 degrees C. Extruder outputs were ayylux;~nl~ly 2.0 Kg/hr/1.4 cm die width. The adhesive coating _ad an average thi~ l~nfAcc of ay~l u~ .ly 50 mic~u~The samples were tested for their ,..1~ to steel, ~ . to b~e~in~ unwind, initial ~~1h~ei~n to skin and after 48 hours, lift and residue. Results are shown in the table 20 below.
H~t Melt Acrylate ~I~'E Filler P, uy.,. li~,s Sample Adh steel Adh Unwind T0 T48 Lift Residue N/dm backing N/dm N/dm N/dm N/dm 3C 25 12 9 1 .0 3 . 1 1 .0 0.0 Example 4 ~ ",~1.;.l. s that aJl,~,~;vt; blends culllyliacd of acrylate p.c~:.u-c-25 s~,nDilivc adl.c~ivc and at least one f'l ~ perform well when adhered to skin. This istrue whether the âdllcsivc blend is p~cyal~,d by hot melt blf -- l;..g (E~a~"ple 4A) or by solvent hl-n~in~ (F l 1~ 4B) The following ~--~ were used to prepare the a~lL.,c,;~_ blends of FY~mpl~ 4 Natsyn~ 2210 is an elsct~.mf r cu,.,yl;~cd of synthetic polyisu~...,.le available from 30 Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company of Akron, OH. WingtackTM 95 is a Lydl~alb tackifier also av il~ble from Gool~,~ar Tire and Rubber Company. Vistanex~LM-MH(Flory MW 53,000) and VistanexlM MM L-80(1Flory MW 990,000) are e~

poly;sul,uL~/lenes available from the Exxon ~'.h~mi~l Company of IIvu~,lull, IX.AmeripoIIN 101 lA is an el ~ ic styrene ~Ut~- rubber available from BF Goodrich of Akron, OH. ForalTN 85 is a rosin ester tackifier ~v 1~ ~1~ from Hercules Inc. of Wil~ .r.l.~.., DE.
A Warner-Pfeiderer 30 mm ZSK 30 twin screw ~.IIU~. with an L/D of 37:1 was used to prepare the hot melt blend a~.~ldt~ C;7.7~llC~ 7iLiYG adhesive. The elsct~.m~r NATSYN~N 2210 was fed into barrel 2, VISTANEX~ LMMH was fed into barrel 4 and the acrylate ;~ was fed into barrel 6 of the eALIud~". The e~Lludc~ zone 1 G was 149~C, zone 2 was 161~C, zone 3 was 163~C, zone 4 was 163~C, zone S
was 163~C, zone 6 was 163~C, die was 163~C the e.,L.u."on rate was 0.32 Kg/hr per cm die width, and the extruder rpm was 299. The barrels were divided as follows: barrel 1 (...~l~. ~,1~1), barrels 2-3 (zone 1), barrels 4-5 (zone 2), barrels 6-7 (zone 3), barrels 8-9 (zone 4), barrel 10 (zone 5), and barrels 11-12 (zone 6). Line speed was adjusted from 0 to 12.8 m/minute to achieve a~lLe ,;vG target thi~n~cQ
1~
4A. Hot Melt Coated Acrvlate/F.l~ . . Adhesive Blends On Non-Occlus;vc R~çkin~c The acrylatc/e' blend adhesive dcs~;libcd above was coated at a thi~n~QQ of 57 microns onto a backing. The backing was a 180x48 plain weave acetate taffeta cloth, 75 denier fiber in the warp di~ ioll, lS0 denier fiber in the wet direction as available from 20 Millil~.-n & CO. Of S~ bu~,, GA.
Samples 4A~E were tested for skin a~lh~Q~n l)lu~ ies in~ lin~ initial ~t~h~ n, ~lhf~Q~on after 48 hours, lift and the amount of aJl~;.i vc residue .~ ....~;..;..P after removal of the sample (residue).

Sample # Acrvlate/F~ . ,",. . / To T~8 Lift Residue TackifierRatio N/dm N/dm 4A 100/0/0 2.0 7.5 0.8 0.5 4B 75/9/16 2.4 8.4 0.7 0.6 4C50/19/3 1 2.7 8.8 0.8 0.8 4D25/28/47 2.2 5.8 1.1 0.5 4E 0/37/63 1.6 2.3 1.5 0.3 S~mrl~s 4A th~ough 4E .' that the a~lL~i,ivc blends of acrylate and F.~ CUIII~U ~ ~ (S~mrlFc 4B through 4D) offer usually higher To and T48 than thcpure cu~l~ulle~ (S , t 4A through 4E~. The blends show a ~..~ 1 ;c effect and not SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26) an additive effect. The skin ~1ht ~ n To and T48 is ~ IG~ -~ by the ratio of the Cu~ o~ L~.

4B. Solvent Coated Acrylate/Fk~u...~,. Adhesive Bends On Non-Occlu:iivG Racl~inp~
Solvent coated acrylate/~ F, blendpl.,;.~ s~ e adllc.;vGtapes were p.c~Jc..Gd in the following manner. The solvent aJl.e;.;~- blends were first p..,~c.l.
Acrylate a~ ,;vG A was dissolved in a I t ~ e 90/1O mix ratio at 20% solids in a gallon jar. F~ NatsynTh~ 2210 and VistanexTA~ LMMH (100 parts/167 parts e~livGly) were dissolved in heptane at 20% solids in a 3.8 liter glass jar using a 10 lj~htnin~ mixer for 24 hours. Each ofthe master batches were then rolled on a roll mixer for 24 h-rs at room LGIUI)CIaLUIC in the 3.8 liter c~ The al~plulJl;d~ of both master batches are then weigl.t~,d into 0.9 liter glass jars to achieve the desired ratios for the adhesive blend. The jars are then allowed to ~ix on a roll mixer uv~ ~LL at roomt~ G.
The blends of the a~,-yL t~,tNatSynTM 221 0/vistanexTN LMMH were then coated onto a Daubert release liner to achieve a dry coating thit~~nt ~c of 57 n~icrons. A I~Life over bed coater was used for the coating. The adllG~ivG was dried in a dual oven system and the oven 1~ u~ es are listed below. Ai'ler the a~ll.e;,i~ _ was dry it was ~ Gd to the woven cloth bac~ng ~G~ ;be~l in F -n~'~ 4A.
Sample Acrylate/E solids % coating orifice speed zone 1 zone 2 # 1~ -L"-~ (microns) (m/min.) (C) ~C) T~ckifier (mierons) ~F 1~ ~0/0/0 20 : ~ ~70 ~ 5, ~G 7: /9/16 ~0 ~ ~70 r 5 ~H 50/19/~ oo ~ , 4I 25/28/~ 7 ' ~ 2~ .1 -' :,5 4J 0/37/6~ '8: _.1 : 7 _ 5 ~he tape samples of the various ratios of acrylatc/e~ -~lu.. ~ U~ S.,.l~i~iVG
adhesive blend were tested for skin af~h~ DuraporeTM Brand a lLesivG tape available from 3M of St. Paul, MN was tested as a Co..l~.GLiliv-e Sample.

Slu~ 1 1 1 UTE SHEET (RULE 26) W 097/23249 PCTnJS96/20301 Sample Ac~ylate/F~ o.. le~l To T48 Lift Residue Tackifier # Rai:io N/dm N/drn 4F 100/0/0 1.8 7.0 0.6 0.3 4G 75/9/16 1.9 8.0 0.8 0.5 4H S0/19/3 1 2.4 7.0 0.7 0.7 4I 25/28/47 1.6 4.4 l. l 0.4 4J 0/37/63 2.6 2. 1 1.5 0.5 Control D~a~u~vlM 2.5 6.4 1.4 0.2 Both hot melt and solvent coated ~cl~laLv/Pl ~lu~ blend ~ unv-sv.~;L.v aJhv~ vs perform ~ r5 ~l~Jl;ly when coated on a non~vvlu~i~v backing and adhered to skin. This is ~pc.nv.~L when; ~ l,E, the initial a~1l.. ; 01~ values and the ~I-F~ after 48 hours. The lift and residue results are also de~ilablc for a~ V ~ V:~ blends ~Iv~a-~i by ~ solvent or by hot melt b! E

F---- rl~ S ~l.. ,.. ,I.,.l~.c that the acrylate/~1~ctompr ~-v~ v-svns;livv ~ILe~;vv blends of the i~ v.diul~ perforrn well when coated on the cloWpolyrner ~~ .oC;~e backing as desv,;l,ed in r ~ 3 above.

SA. Hot Melt Coated AcrvlatelF~ Adhesive Blends Coated on CloWPolymer 25 Cc; I..~,o:,itv R~c~
The ~IL~,i,;v~; used to prepare the samples in rY~..I.lc 4A above was used to coat the cloWcu.,l~o~;L~ ba~; .os described in Example 3 above. The aJl.csiv~ was cOâted at an average Ih;~ cs~ of 50 microns.
SslmrlPc were tested for skin ~.ll ,r-: -.. p.~ ,. Li~,s ;. .~ l~"l;, .g initial ~h~;U.., ~AhP~ n after 48 hours, lift and the amount of ~h~,;.;v~ residue .. ~;.. ;.. p. after removal of the sample (residue) and results are shown in ~e table below.

Sample Acrylate/Fl~c~.. I/ To T48 Lift Residue # Tackifier Ratio N/dm N/dm SA 100/0/0 ~
~B 75/9/16 2.3 9.6 0.5 0.7 5C 50/19/3 1 2.4 8.6 0.4 0.5 5D 25/28/47 2.0 3.6 1.0 0.8 5E 0/37/63 1.1 1~6 0.7 0.8 PCTnJS96/20301 S~An~rlec 5B through 5E ~1- ."""~ the To values of the blend adhesives show a .7y~ ic effect. The skin at~h~si An~ To and T48, are d~ ,d by the ratio of the adhesive co~ ul~c~

S SB. Solvent Coated Acrylate/Fl&~ - Adhesive Bends Coated on Cloth/Polymer C~ ,o~;~ Backing The adhesives pl~alcd in F , '- 4B above were coated onto the cloth/lJolyl,.c cullll)o~ile backing as pl~ared in F~...ple 3 above. Coating weight and plU~ .g c~ ,, ,.l;l ;.~.~c are listed in the table below.
Sample # Acrylate/solids %orifice speed zone (C)zone 2 (C) FlACtQm~r/ (microns)(m/min.) Tackifier 5F 100/0/0 20 386 1.1 37 135 5G 75/9/16 20 368 1.1 37 135 5H 50/19/31 20 368 1.1 37 135 5I 25/28/47 20 312 1.1 37 135 5J 0/37/63 20 312 1.1 37 135 Samples were tested for skin "~ o~ properties inrhlt1in~ initial a-lhPcic)n, atiht,si~An aP~er 48 hours, liit and the amount of adhesive residue l~ p after removal of the sample (residue) and results are shown in the table below.
Sample # Acrylate/F.~ ,"... / To N/dm T4g N/dm Lift Residue Tackifier Ratio 5F 100/0/0 2.0 9.5 0.2 0.4 5G 75/9/16 2.2 7.5 0.6 0.5 5H 50/19/31 2.0 6.0 0.7 0.5 5I 25/28/47 1.9 2.8 0.8 0.4 5J 0/37/63 1.5 1.4 0.7 0.7 Control J&JW 0,7 2.8 1.9 2.23 S~mplA~ 5F-5J d~ that the blend of adhesives used for S~TnrlP.c 5G-5I
offer usually higher To than the individual Culll~ulwlll:~ used to prepare S~Arnrl~c 5F-5J. The blends show a syll~ 7Lic effect and not an additive effect. The skin atlhPciAn, To and T4g, 2(} is .1~ ~ .. ; .ed by the ratio of the c~ ~' - ~ ~
~ The c~ Sample ZONAS POROUSTM Br~ nd Adhesive Tape from Joh~con and Johnson Medical, Inc. was inAl~d~i to ~1~ ~.. ~I~c.l~ ~at both hot melt and solvent Sl,~ 111 ~JTE SHEET (IRULE 26~

W O 97n3249 PCT~US96nO301 coated acrylatcffe~ adhesive blends on low ~J~Jr~J~;Ly (ocdusive) ba~ L ;.~g~ are ;vG with a cc~u~cl~ lly available tape.

EXAMPLE 6/COMPARAT~VE EXAMPLE 6 5For Samples 6A, 6B, and 6C, ~ UIC-S_.~iti~ lL~,~;vG tapes were p~ al~d with the acrylate a&esive A. A Ih~ - ""~pl _1 ;C f 1~ ~Ou~ C adhesive (prepared by bl~,l.di..g 5 0 parts 1~ ~L ~ - e' ~ - block copolymer KRATON~N Dl 107P, 1 part ~ x;~
IRGANOX~ 1010 and 50 parts ~ri...8 resin ESCOREZ~f 1310LC) was melt blended using a colvk.L-..~ twin screw t,Al-U~. f~f~crril~ in FY~ 4A with the Ll.G~ ~lastic 10 ~ f~.... . ;e block COIJOIYI~ fed into zone 1 of the extruder, the tackifier into zone 2 and the acrylic ~ bbUl~ s_l~iLivG a~lhf ;,ivG fed into zone 3. Tf -..l.~ ,s were "~;.,1 .;~.fd between 149~C and 165~C. The blend was cAL uded using a contact die with a feed rate of 6.4 Kg/hr to form a ~ UI~ S~ ;LiVC;; ac hesive tape. The acrylic adhesive to thGIllwpla~Lic f~ ....e~ a~ ,;,ivc ratio had ratios of 75:25, 50:50 and 25:75 for S~mrlf?c 6A, 6B, and 6C
15 ~Gb~e.lively. For Sample 6D, a ~ UII~ se,....;Li~,_ aJL~ ;ve tape was ~lGl,~l with acrylate Adhesive B and the th~ pl,-~;c f ~ , KRATONT~ Dl 107P (99 parts preblended with 1 part IRGANOX 1010 ~ntioxid~nt)~ with the acrylic Lfl~ ul~-s_~ aiLivG adhesive to thPrmnp1~ctic c~ - block c~ oly...~,. ratio being 75:25. For CUll.~alaLivG Sample C6E, the ~ aaUlG-s~, D;Liv~ a~ ,Di~_ tape was ~ alGd using only acrylic adhesive. For20 C. ""l ~ ~l ;VG Sa~nple C6F, the pl~;,aulc-s~lD;Iivti adhesive tape was p.~dlt;d using only the t~cl~ified thc.. o~laD~ic el ~ .. ;c adhesive. All sarnples h~d an a~lLeDivG coating thic ~nf-cc of about 50 ~m (2 mils) and were coated onto non-occlua;vG, i.e. I,lt;aLhable, woven backing which has an 180 x 48 plain weave acetate taff~ta cloth, 75 denier fiber in the warp ,Liu~ and 150 denier fiber in the wet Ih~iLiull, available from Millikf.n and Co., 25 S~aUkUl~ C, GA. The adhesive culllpoD;Lion-c in Sr-lF' 6A and 6D showed a 2- 1~al;~ 11y c~ c acrylic a~llL,D;vt; dornain with the I~ clic Lirying resin forming sCl~;-'ose ribbon-like ~hm:~inc In the adhesive CC..l~Osi~ul- of Sample 6B, the aclylic adhesive and the L~ ctiC el~ctomAr/tack~ g resin formed ~UhDI;~ Y co~c.. l ;-.. c sU~ se ~hm~ine In Sarnple 6C, the 30 ~ . ",~ 1 ;r, ~ .. l . /La~Lif~ lg resin for ned a D.. l,~ tly Cf .. 1;.. ~.. c domain, while the acrylic aclhesive formed s~ k.:,G ribbon-like ~1nm:~inc The p~a~ ~~-senD;LivG adhesive tapes were tested for skill~ u~ 1y after applir~ti~n~ To~ and a~er 24 hours, T24, skin al~ Iift after 24 hours and sLin a.ll...~ residue after 24 hours. The results are set forth in the table below.

SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26) Sample To (N/dm)T24 ~Nldm)T24 LiftT24 Residue C6E 2.2 7.9 1.8 1.0 6A 3.0 11.2 1.6 0.8 6B 4.0 7.7 1.6 0.6 6C 3.4 4.3 1.6 0.3 C6F 3.0 3.3 1.3 0.1 6D 2.0 2.7 0.3 1.0 As can be seen from the data in the table above, the p~ ulc-sGI~;Livc adhesive tapes on S~n~r~c 6A, 6B, 6C and 6D had ~ ..l.,...~i peel p~-A r,J....~.~,e from skin and the To:T24 ;lr1h~ion can be controlled by ~lu~JIiaLc bt ~- g ofthe acrylic a~lLc~ivc and the S tS~r~ified or lmt ~rl~ifi~A 1~ upl~cl ;c Pl~ctnm~r In particular, the tape of Sample 6B had between 180 percent and 33 percent higher initial ~ to skin than tapes ~ alcd of either ofthe cv,.. pu.~c.. L ~.,c;,;,.,.c _~,.~;live adhesives, C.. ~ l;vc .C~mplcî C6E and C6F.
A-lrlitir~n~lly, all S~mrl~oc ~,.uvid~i atlhci,;.,~,i, with ~rcc;~tz-hle 24 hour aged ~hPcion to skin 10 E~AMPLE 7 For Sam~ple 7A, the acrylic plc~ulc-s~,~,D;Livc adhesive used in Example 6 was melt-blended with a ll .. ~1,.~1 ;c el ~u - ;c ~II- ,~ivc (~--,p~cd by preblPn~ing 100 parts thf-rmrpl~ctir cl~ c block copolymer KRATON~ Dl 107P, 1.5 parts S~ ;U
IRGANOXTM 1076, available from Ciba~eigy Corp, 1.5 parts ~ntio~ nt CYANOX
15 LIDP, available from ~mrric~n Cy ~ e of Wayne, NJ, and 70 parts tackifying resin W~NGTACK~M Plus, available from Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company of Akron, OH) with the acrylic adLc;.;vc to ~h. ~ l ;o el ~ e- a~ ,;,;v~ ratio being 65 :35 using the process deceribe~d in rY~-..pl~ lA onto a non occlu~ivc woven backing as used in F.Y~nnple h. T_e &IL~i,;ve coating had an average thir~n~cc of ~ lcly 50 ~m (2 mils). For 20 Sample 7B, a ~lcDDulc-sensitive a ll,cD;vc tape was plt;lJalcd as for Sample 7A except the Il .. - . --v~ ;c rl ~u...~, ic adll~,;,;vc was l~lcyalcd by hl.... li.~g 50 parts Lhcll,lu~!laDLic "" .~ ;c block copolymer KRATON~M D l l l9, a styrene-isoprene-sty-rene block c~ol~...c., shear viscosity -17 Pa-s, available from Shell Chemit~l Co), 2 parts zmti~ nt IRGANOX~ 1076 and 48 parts tauldryu.g resin WINGTACK~N Plus. For Sample 7C, a 2~ Dsu.c-se.lDiLivc adL~ , tape was p~ dlcd as for Sample 7A except the acrylic p~ DUIC-.D;Livc aJL~D;vc used in r.~ e 6 was melt-blended with a the}moplastic el ~ -t -- - .~- ;c adhesive, ~Ic~dlcd by blcnd.-.g 50 parts 1l.l - ...u~ l ;C cl~ m~riC block copolymer SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26) W O 97t23249 PCTrUS96t20301 KRATONTM Dl 107P, 1 part ~ntiryid~r~t IRGANOXlN 1010, and 50 parts tackifying resin ESCOREZ~ 1310LC, with the acrylic a~h~,;.ivc to th~ --o~ ic e~g ctr~mf~r adhesive ratio being 25:75. The a.ll-c~ r" ~l o~ in ~mpl- 7A and 7B showed a ~"lb~ ;z lly c~...l; . o ~c acrylic adh~s;vc domains with the Ih. . ~ ;o r~ ckif~ying resin S folming s~ ..,e ribbon-like ~lo~inQ- The a~ ;v~; c ""l,o~ in Sample 7C showed a s~h~ .ny ~ ~ r.~ s~l ;o ~ /~Liryi~ resin domain with thc acrylic adhesive forming s ~ use ribbon-like ~1om~inQ The ~ ; s~ e adhesive tapes were tested for skin a~1h~Q; ~n; -l; t ,l~/ af~er applir~tion To~ and after 48 hours, T48, skin ~1hPs;~n lif't after 48 hours and skin S~ ,F_ ~. residue after 48 hours The results are set forth in the table below.
Sample To (N/dm) T48 (N/dm) T48 Lift T48 Residue 7A 4.9 12 0 1.9 1.6 7B 4.6 10 8 1.9 17 7C 2 1 5.4 07 03 As can be seen from the data in the table above, the ~ ,.,u-t;-s~.,ilivt; adhesive tapes of S~mrlPQ- 7A, 7B, and 7C, with non-occlusive woven b~rl~in~c alld with di~c~
acrylic ~.~.,;,u~ s_.~ilivti a~lhc;,i~,~,;. and ~ ;c ~ k....~ .~ ;r adLt ,ivt~ had acceptablc 15 peel p~. rv,...~ ~ from skin.

For S , ' 8A, 8B, and 8C, pl~,.77ul~-s_lL7;livc; adhesive tapes were made with various ~on-occlui,;v~ b~f L ;.~ using the satne thPr nf pl~itif1 r~ elll~4Liryi~g resin 20 adhesive, melt-mixing and coating process used to prepare Sample 7C above. For Sample 8A, the acrylic ~11.~,;,;. _ to th. ~ ~ 1 ;C P1 ~k" " ~ a lI~,i,;vti ratio was 60:40 and the y~C7i-7Ul~;-Sc1~7iti~_ a~ cu --yfj~iLion was coated onto a release liner and ~ lt;d to a r~,uwuv~ll rayon fiber backing. The backing was as Af ~f'.~ P~1 in F~Tnr1P lA. For Sample 8B, the acrylic a~llf~i7;~1_ to 11.~.. :.p~ if~' f'~ a~l' ~;V'Ci ratio was 50:50 and the 25 y~ -,ul~ s 1~7;~i~_ ~lL~;ve c o...yu~;Lon was applied to a liner and melt blown llu~ rlber, with a fli ~ h,. of between 5 and 10 ~m and made by using PS 440-200 polyurethane, available from Morton TntP!rn~ti~n~1 S~luuok NH, and a process similar to that describe in U. S. Pat. No. 5,230,701, F.Y~mpt- l, was blown onto the adhesive at 450 g/hr/cm to form a 80 ,um thick backing with a basis weight of 20 g/m2. For Sample 8C, the acrylic adhesive to L11~,.. "~ ic f~1 -~i1~.. aJh~,s;~._ ratio was 60:40 and ~e l,.. ,i,,~.~-s~.. ~iLiv~;

SlJ~I~ 111 IJTE SHEET (RULE 26) W O 97/232~9 PCTrUS96120301 aJL~,~ive coulpo:,;tion was applied to 0.65 ~n thick SONTARA~ 8010 backing (a 44 g/m2 basis weight hydro e .t ..~ A polyester nullwu.-~ S~LI~1IG available from DuPont). In the adhesive cul.l~,u~ilion used to prepare Sa~nples 8A, 8B, and 8C, the acrylic adhesive and the thr rmnpl~etic elS~ /~c~Lirying resin adhesive formed 5.~ f~ 11y co~ntimlmle 5 s~ .~se ~lnm~inc The p~ u-c-s_.~;li~- adl.~,s;.,_ tapes were tested for skin a~
;"".~: t~vly after al-pli. -I ;- - - T~, and after 48 hours, T48, skin ~ _ n~ Iift aftcr 48 hours and skin ~-lhr cir n residue after 48 hours. The Ih - L ~~ of each of the aJLGsiv1 co..l~osilion and the test results are set forth in the table below.
Sample T1 ' To (N/dm)T48 (N/dm)T48 LiPcT48 Residue (llm) 8A 21 2.1 6.5 0.1 0.6 8B 39 2.6 6.1 0.5 0.0 8C 32 3.5 12.0 0.9 4.8 As can be seen from the data in the table above, the plessulG-sell~ ivG adhesivetapes on S~mpl~-c 8A, 8B and 8C, with non~clu;,;v~ woven ba.,l~ s and with difrGlGIIL
acrylic ~ ul~-s_~;LivG adl.cs;vcs and th.?rm~pl~cti.~ Pl~ ..-v.ic a~lLe~ivG:" had acceptable peel pe- r~ e from skin.

EXAM[PLE 9 For ~mpl~c 9A, 9B, 9C, and 9D, p~G~ulG-sensitive adlle~ivG tapes were made as in Example 8 except with various OC~1U~;VG non-breathable b?.~in~.~. For Sample 9A, the acrylic adhesive to thermoplastic el~ctom~r ddllG~iVG ratio was 60:40 and the pressure-~e.~.~;LiVG acll,~,;,;ve ~ .o~;l inn was applied to a 117 ~m t_ick polyethylene/vinyl acetate CO~O1YInGI film ~JIG~dl~i using ESCORENER~ S-3 1209, available from E~xxon Ch~mi~l Co. The film was p-: - rul~ with 97 holes/cm2. For Sample 9B, the acrylic a~ll.e~ivG to U~ 1 ;C P~ adlle;~iVG ratio was 60:40 and the p~ u~G-sGI~iLive a&esive cu.~)o:~iLion was applied to a 76 llm thick low density polyethylene film, ~ Jal Gd using NA
964-085 resin, available from Quantum Ch~mir~l Co. l;or Sample 9C, the acrylic a&esive to th~. " ,- ,pl~ ;c çl~tnm.~r adhesive ratio was 50:50 and the plG:~:.ulG-st;ll~iLivG a ILl,sivG
cu~u~)o:~iliun was applied to 0.57 mm thick pl~Ctir.i7f~l polyvinyl chloride foam (available as No. 9058 TA 022 Fleshtone frûm General Foam Corp., Carlstat, NJ). For Sarnple 9D, the acrylic adhesive to Ihl - ~"opl-~ ;r, F.l~L~ ~---- ~ adhesive ratio was 50:50 and the IJlG~:~Ult~-3~ iVG a~ ;.iVG C' ~---l~u~;l;nn was applied to the polymer side of a white polymer/clo~

SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26) W O 97~3249PCTAUS96/20301 O:~;LG a~s ~es ;1,ecl in r , ~c 3 above. ~ the ad~ 5;VG C<~ )os;lion of Samples 9A, 9B and 9D, the ac~ylic ad~ itiVG and the Ih~ u~l~Lic c1~lc.... /Lackif ying resin adhesive fo~med s.~ 11y co co~ . .v~c ~ se ~lomS~inC In the a~lLe i;ve co.l.~o:,;L;on used for Sample 9C, the acrylic &.lI-ci,;ve formed a ~,~.b~ ;ally Cf~ - uu- domaun and the S ~L~ u~ .ic; ' ' /L~Lr~& resin a~l,~.._ formed ribbon-lilce s~ "1~m~inc The pl~S.~ S ~L~iiive a~lLe~;~._ tapes were tested for skin *-~ o~ after~pplio~tion To~ and after 48 hours, T48, skin ~-1h ~ . \ lift after 48 hours and skin ~lht~$i~n residue after 48 hours The thir~sC~ of each of the adL~;~iVG ~""1'~';; l ;r-n examples and the test results are set for~ in the table below 1~
Sample Ti~ To (N/dm)T48 (N/dm) T4,~ LiftT48 Residue (llm) ~A 29 24 1.8 1.3 06 9B 39 2 l 1.5 0 9 0.6 gC 39 56 76 03 1.8 9D 50 l S 3.7 1 1 0 3 EXAMPLE lO
Samples lOA, 10B, lOC, lOD, and 10E were ~ JdlGd in the following manner.
For Sample lOA the a~lLej-._ was p~ drGd using an acrylate ~I~ ivG B and r.l~ .... ;r ~V60 (a natural rubber, shear viscosity - 2089 Pa-s as in FY~mplP 4A except process c~ ..w were Ji~F~,..,..L. and ESCORBZ 13101 were melt-blended. The extmder ran at 166 rpm and the t ~ G l~rc,gl~s.vely i-1~lG~1 from 93~C to 149~C ~om zone 1 to zone 4 was ~ at 149~C in the ~ , zones and the die l. -~ G was between 160~Cand 168~C. Thefeedrateswere~ etpcltoprovidearatio of plG~ iUlG-20 sensitive adhesive to e~ . ~ ;c pol~ ,. of 33:67 where the ~ /L~ckifier ylG:i:iUlG-sensitive ~~ ;VG~ shear viscosity - 126 Pa-s, was ill a ratio of 100 parts P I -C~ to 100 parts tackifier. For Sample lOB, the acrylic p~G~ Ul~; S_.l~ a~ll.e.,;.~ to rls~ /Idckifier 1"~ UIC s_.lailive a~,~ivG ratio was 50:50 where th~ el~el~ e~/L~ckifier ; s_-~;Li~,~, adhesive, shear visco:~ity - 74 Pa-s, was in a ratio o~ 100 parts r~ mPr 2~ to 200 parts tackifier. For Sample lOC, rl ~ ---- iC NATSYNTM 2210 was added in barrel 2 and a tacki~ing resin, WINGTACKT~ 95 (av 1. l ~- from GOO.1YG~1- Tire and Rubber Co.~ was added in barrel 1, were melt blended wieh the acrylic ~ sulc-3~,~iLiv~ adhes;~, to provide acrylic p~Ci.~iUlt;-SWl~ iV~;i a~lL~ _ to p~ /L~ckifier ~lci .sulG-~,~iLiv~

SUBSTITUTE SHEFT (RULE 26 -CA 02238327 l998-05-22 WO 97f23249 PCT~US96/20301 adhesive in a ratio of 50:29:21, where the t ~ ckifier plv;~ul~v-S-vlL:~iLivv a&esive, shear v;sco~ - 174 Pa-s, was in a ratio of 100 parts rl -~ , to 70 parts tackifier.
Process c~n~lititm~ were as 4A except zone 1 was 163~C, zone 2 was 174~C, zone 4 was 175~C, zone 5 was 176~C, zone 6 was 174~C, die ~ v was 177~C. Coating speedS was 5.8mJmin. For Sample 10D, the ~ t ~ /~vLirlel p.v~:,ul~-s_~;~ive adhesive, shear viscosity - 562 Pa-s, of the p.v~ ic sv~ Li- _ a&esive c ~-..I-c~ :l ;t n was cu.l~o~vd of 100 parts el~tt m~ VISTANEXTM MML-80 (pol,~isv~uL~ v~ MW 990,000) in barrel 2, 48 parts VISTANEXTM LM MH in barrel 1, and 32 parts of WINGTACKT~ 95, in barrel 4, and the acrylic l~. v;.~u. v sv~iLi~ v a~lLv;~;~ _ to ~ lv. . -- - /~vLiLvr p~-v:~u~G-sv~;Li~l v &ll.vi,ivv was in a ratio of 50:50. Process con-~iti- n~ were as 10C except zone 1 was 149~C, zone 2 was 175~C, zone 3 was 204~C, zone 5 was 198~C, zone 6 was 207~C, die ~ .-v was 204~C. For Sample 10E, the cl -~lo...- ;c pol~lllv., shear viscosity - 258 Pa-s, of the ~I-v~;~Ul v-3v ~;liv~v adhesive cc,.-.p. ~.lion was cu~ )osvd of 100 parts tJ.~ - iC
AMERIPOL~ 101 lA (styrene but~iiene rubber) added in barrel 2, and 100 parts tackifier 1~ FORAL~M 85 (available from Hercules, Inc.), added in barrel 1, and the acrylic ~ ul-v-sensitive adl.v;,ivv to ~ "", /l~ckifier plv;~ulv-scl~D;live adhesive was in a ratio of 50:50.
Process c~ ;u..~ were as 10C except zone 1 was 83~C, zone 2 was 89~C, zone 3 was 94~C, zone 4 was 94~C, zone 5 was 94~C, zone 6 was 94~C, die lc~..pf~ v was 106~C.
'rhe pl~ul~v-sensitive adhesives of S~mples 10A and 10B were coated onto a non-20 occlusive, i.e. bre~th~hl~ woven backing ~ ...~ p. of 62x56 cotton cloth from Burcott Mills, Ch~ n7 IL. The ~.v;,~u.v-sv~;Liv~ of S~mrles 10C, 10D and 10Ewere coated onto a non~clu~;vt;~ i. e. l,.~ hle, woven backing .1- ~. . ;he~l in F~r~mrle 4. The Ih;. L ",D~j~; Of the l,.v~u- v ~v.~;tive adl.c~i. v coating was 52 llm, 43 ~m, 57 ~m, 57 ~m and 57 ,um, ~-v~ vli-vl)/~ The plv~ulv-sv.~;tivv a Ihesivv tapes were tested for skin ~rlh~$inn 2~ ;.. l;~l~ly after applir~ti~n~ To~ and after 48 hours, T48, skin ~ lift after 48 hours and slcin a~lh~ n residue after 48 hours. The results are set forth in the table below.
Sample To (N/dm)T48 (N/dm)T48 LiftT48 Residue 10A 1.5 3.3 1.3 0.3 10B 1.9 6.9 0.3 0.5 10C 3.2 9.9 0.7 0.9 10D 2.3 3.9 0.9 0.6 10E 4.8 8.9 0.6 0.8 SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26) WO 97/23249 PCT~US96/20301 As can be seen from the data in the table below, the p.vi.a..lrv sc.";liv~ adhG.~ivv tapes on S. rl~ 10A, lOB, IOC, lOD, and IOE, with non~vvlu~ woven barL ins~ and with ~ t acrylic p~ ,u~v sv.~ili~v adl~ vv-~ and rl~ ic a lI~c~iv-v~, had ~rcepPblc peel p~- rv....~ ~ from skin.
S

EXA~IPLE 1 1 For S~mpl~s 1 lA, 1 lB, and 1 lC, p.vssu.v sv~Diti~ tapes were made in the rull~J..u~ manner. The P~ UI~;" "'~_ a~lhe;~;-v;~ were p~ a-~d accu.d;l~g to the method outlined in ~ , '~ 4C. The ~ u~-Sv~;tivG &-lI.c;,ivv was applied to a non-lo occlu~iv-v, i.e., 1,., ' -'-l~, backing or one oftwo occl~ ,i.v, i.e., nollbl~ll.able, b~in~c For Sample llA, ~e pressurc-s~ ,;Livv adLv;,ivv cu~po~ilion was coated onto a release liner and 1_. . .;-.~led to a no~vvuv-v~5 backing desc, ;l,ed in FY----F'- lA. For Sa nple 1 lB, the ~.v;,:,~.v ~ .s;li~_ a IL~,;,;.v CU~ J~ was applied to a 117 ~m thick polyethylene / vinyl acetate copolymer film (made with ESCORENE~d LD-3 12.09 resin available from 15 Quantllm CChem~ Co. of C .; ~"_1;, OEI) which had been previously pv.ru~at~d wvith 97 holes/cm2. For Sample I lC, the p.v~ lhe~ c~,...~,v,~;lion was applied to the po . side ofthe polymer/cloth composite dcsv.il.ed in F.---m~ 3. In the adl.c:,;vv vu---~o~iLion of Samples 1 lA, 1 IB, and 1 lC, the acrylic adhesive and the F, ~ ic ~vaaul~ sv~ . adl~ v fonned s~.l,~l ...1;~lly co~ s~ o~e domains. The 2Q ~ ulV-..v ls~Li~v adhv;.;~v tapes were tested for skin ~.lh..~ ;"",~F~ y after 'on, T~, and after 48 hours, T48, skin a~ lift after 48 hours and skin ~.ll,. :,"~
residue after 48 hou~s. The l~;- L ~ ~ of each of the acll.Fv;.ilr v cc,...~o:,ilion - ~ .lej and the test results are set fo~ in the table beiow.
F~ IF r ~ m) To (Nldm) T4~ (N/drn) T"8 LiftT48 Residue 1 lA 21 2.6 7.9 0.5 0.9 1 lB 29 3.5 2.9 1.3 1.1 1 lC 50 3.9 5. 1 1.0 1.4 2S As can be seen from the data in ~e table above, the ~ v~sensitive a~ c tapes of Sample 1 lA, on ~ ccl--~;~v l,.v~,lI.aWe b~ y~, and of Samrl~s 1 lB and I lC, on occl.-~;~v nol~b-~ll-able b~l~L;u~ had ~cceptr~l- but varying peel l~e- r... ~ r~ ~om skin.

Claims

We claim:

1. A pressure-sensitive adhesive composition for medical applications comprising a blend of at least two component comprised of about 5 to about 95% by weight of a first component comprised of at least one acrylic pressure-sensitive adhesive and about 5 to about 95% by weight of a second component comprised of either (a) at least one elastomer with a tackifying resin, or (b) at least one thermoplastic elastomer, wherein the resulting pressure-sensitive adhesive demonstrates a T0 of at least 1 N/dm and a T48 of less than 12 N/dm as defined by the Skin Adhesion Test as defined herein when adhered to skin

2 The pressure-sensitive adhesive of claim 1 wherein the acrylic pressure sensitive-adhesive adhesive comprises a polymer of a C3-C12 alkyl ester.

3. The pressure-sensitive adhesive composition of claim 2 wherein the acrylic pressure-sensitive adhesive comprises a polymer of isooctyl acrylate, 2-ethyl-hexyl acrylate of n-butyl acrylate.

4. The pressure-sensitive adhesive composition of claim 2 wherein the acrylic pressure-sensitive further comprises a polar component.

5. The pressure sensitive adhesive composition of claim 4 wherein the polar component comprises acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, ethylene vinyl acetate, N-vinyl pyrrolidone and styrene macromer.

6. The pressure-sensitive adhesive composition of claim 5 wherein the acrylic pressure-sensitive adhesive comprises about 1000 to about 80 percent alkyl estercomponent and about 0 to 20 weight percent polar component.

7. The pressure-sensitive adhesive composition of claim 1 wherein the thermoplastic elastomeric materials comprise linear, radial, star, tapered of branched copolymers.

8 The pressure-sensitive adhesive composition of claim 7 wherein the thermoplastic elastomeric materials comprise styrene-isoprene block copolymers, styrene-(ethylene-butylene) block copolymers, styrene-(ethylene-propylene) block copolymers, styrene-butadiene block copolymers, polyesters, and poly-.alpha.-olefin.

9. The pressure-sensitive adhesive composition of claim 1 wherein the elastomeric materials comprise natural rubbers, butyl rubbers ethylene-propylenes, polybutadienes, synthetic polyisoprenes, and styrene-butadiene random copolymers.

10. The pressure-sensitive adhesive composition of claim 1 where the thermoplastic elastomer further comprises a tackifying resin.

11. The pressure-sensitive adhesive composition of claim 10 wherein said tackifying resin comprises up to 200 weight percent based on the weight of the thermoplastic elastomeric material.

12. The pressure-sensitive adhesive composition of claim 1 wherein said blend is prepared by melt blending.

13. The pressure-sensitive adhesive composition of claim 1 wherein said blend is prepared by melt blending.

14. A pressure-sensitive adhesive composition suitable for medical applicationscomprising a blend of at least two components comprised of about 5 to 95 weight percent of a first component comprised of an acrylic pressure-sensitive adhesive and about 5 to 95 weight percent if a second component comprised of either (a) a thermoplastic elastomer, or (b) an elastomer with tackifying resin, said composition having a morphology comprising at least two distinct domains, a first domain being substantially continuous in nature and said second domain being fibrillose to schistose in nature parallel to a major surface of the adhesive composition within said first domain, wherein the resulting pressure-sensitive adhesive demonstrates a T0 of at least 1 Newtons per decimeter and a T48 of less than 12 Newtons per decimeter when adhered to skin according to the Skin Adhesion Test as defined herein.

15. The pressure-sensitive adhesive composition of claim 14 wherein the acrylic pressure-sensitive adhesive comprises a polymer of a C3-C12 alkyl ester.

16. The pressure sensitive adhesive composition of claim 14 wherein the acrylic pressure-sensitive adhesive comprises a polymer of isoocytyl acrylate, 2-ethyl-hexyl acrylate of n-butyl acrylate.

17. The pressure-sensitive adhesive composition of claim 14 wherein the acrylic pressure-sensitive further comprises a polar component.

18. The pressure-sensitive adhesive composition of claim 17 wherein the polar component comprises acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, ethylene vinyl acetate, N-vinyl pyrrolidone and styrene macromer.

19. The pressure-sensitive adhesive composition of claim 18 wherein the acrylic pressure-sensitive adhesive comprises about 100 to 80 weight percent alkyl ester component and about 0 to 20 weight percent polar component.

20. The pressure-sensitive adhesive composition of claim 14 wherein the thermoplastic elastomeric materials comprise linear, radial, star, tapered of branched copolymers.

21. The pressure-sensitive adhesive composition of claim 20 wherein the thermoplastic elastomeric materials comprise styrene-isoprene block copolymers, styrene-(ethylene-butylene) block copolymers, styrene-(ehtylene-propylene) block copolymers, styrene-butadiene block copolymers, polyetheresters and apoly-.alpha.-olefin.

22. The pressure-sensitive adhesive composition of claim 14 further comprising a tackifying resin.

23. There pressure-sensitive adhesive composition of claim 22 wherein said tackifying resin comprises up to 200 weight percent based on the weight of either (a) the elastomeric material of (b) the thermoplastic elastomeric material.

24. The pressure-sensitive adhesive composition of claim 14 wherein the elastomeric materials comprise natural rubbers, butyl rubbers, ethylene-propylenes, polybutadiens, synthetic polyisoprenes, and styrene-butadiene random copolymers.

25. A method for preparing a medical pressure-sensitive adhesive layer comprising the steps of (1) blending at least two components comprised of about 5 to about 95% by weight of a first component comprised of at least one acrylic pressure-sensitive adhesive and about 5 to about 95% by weight of a second component comprised of either (a) at least one elastomer with a tackifying resin, or (b) at least one thermoplastic elastomer, wherein the resulting pressure-sensitive adhesive, and (2) coating said adhesive to form a layer, wherein said adhesive demonstratesa T0 of at least 1 N/dm and a T48 of less than 12 N/dm when adhered to skin according to the Skin Adhesion Test as defined herein.

26. The method of claim 25 wherein said blending step is comprised of melt blending said materials under shear or extensional conditions or both and wherein said coating step is comprised of forming and drawing said melt blend to form a pressure-sensitive adhesive composition having a morphology comprising at least two distinct domains, a first domain being substantially continuous in nature and said second domain being fibrillose to schistose in nature parallel to the major surface of the adhesive within said first domain.

27. The method of claim 26 further comprising the step of allowing said composition to cool.

28. The method of claim 26 wherein the melt blending is carried out under dispersive or distributive conditions or a combination thereof.

29. The method of claim 26 wherein the blending is carried out using either abatch or continuous process.

30. The method of claim 29 wherein the batch process is carried out using internal mixing or roll milling.

31. The method of claim 29 wherein the continuous process is carried out using a single screw extruder, a twin screw extruder, a disk extruder, a reciprocating single screw extruder or a pin barrel single screw extruder.

32. The method of claim 25 wherein said blending step is comprised of solvent blending and said coating step is comprised of knife coating, rollcoating, gravure coating, rod coating, curtain coating, and air knife coating.

33. The method of claim 32 further comprising the step of drying said adhesivelayer.

34. A method for preparing a medical pressure-sensitive adhesive comprising solvent blending at least two components comprised of about 5 to about 95% by weight of a first component comprised of at least one acrylic pressure-sensitive adhesive and about 5 to about 95% by weight of a second component comprised of either (a) at least one elastomer with a tackifying resin, or (b) at least one thermoplastic elastomer, wherein the resulting pressure-sensitive adhesive demonstrates a T0 of at least 1 N/dm and a T48 of less than 12 N/dm when adhered to skin.

35. A pressure-sensitive medical adhesive article comprising a backing, a pressure-sensitive adhesive composition comprising a blend of about 5 to 95 weight percent of an acrylic pressure-sensitive adhesive and about 5 to 95 weight percent of a thermoplastic elastomeric block copolymer, said composition having a morphology comprising at least two distinct domains, a firs domain being substantially continuous in nature and said second domain being fibrillose to schistose in nature parallel to a major surface of the adhesive composition within said first domain, wherein the resulting pressure-sensitive adhesive demonstrates a T0 of at least 1 N/dm and a T48 of less than 12 N/dm when adhered to skin.

36. The pressure-sensitive medical adhesive article of claim 35 wherein the backing is selected from the group consisting of a woven substrate, a nonwoven substrate, a film, a foam, a melt blown web or laminates thereof.