Latex and Silicone Rubber Tubing - A Comparison!

29 July 2011- Many industries use rubber tubingfor various purposes. In fact, various types of rubber tubing are used for different applications. Two of such common rubber tubings are- Latex Rubber Tubing and Silicone Rubber Tubing. Both of these rubber tubing have their own sets of advantages and disadvantages on the basis of which they have their own preferences in various industries. This article aims at comparing both- the latex tubing and silicone tubing with the viewpoint of making the concerned people aware of their properties so that they might come to know – which rubber tubing- Latex tubing or Silicone tubing- is perfect for their needs.

Latex Rubber Tubing- Advantages

Rubber Tubing made from natural latex is also known as surgical tubing, exercise or fitness tube, gum rubber tubing etc. Those made with continuous dip process create superior natural latex rubber tubing. whose physical properties are better and they also have better quality and more vibrant colors than the synthetic rubber tubing or the dry natural rubber tubes. Latex rubber tubing is comparatively cheap and has relatively constant pressure. As such, they are also used for manufacturing CPS water guns. CPS stands for Constant Pressure System- a CPS is any water gun design which keeps pressure relatively constant. Latex tubing is used in many fields including medical, scientific, industrial, sports and recreation as well as for fitness therapies, especially as exercise tubing.

Latex Rubber Tubing- Disadvantages

Latex Rubber Tubing Advantages set aside, latex rubber tubing has a few disadvantages too. Some of the other disadvantages of latex rubber tubing can be listed as follows:

• The natural latex tubing, due to high protein content, is allergic unless made in the proper way. The rubber tubing manufacturers who consider lower protein levels in natural latex tubing while manufacturing them produce non allergenic latex rubber tubes.
• Latex tubing has limited number of life cycles- less than twenty for a particular tube.
• Latex tube may thin from tiny tears in the rubber.
• The potential flow is reduced by the size of a tubing barb. Smaller inner diameter tubing has higher pressures but the tube itself reduces the potential flow as the hole water must flow through is smaller. It can be cured by using tubing barbs that are a little larger than the inner diameter of the tubing.
• It is also tough to layer tubing to increase the pressure.

Silicone Rubber Tubing- Advantages

Silicone rubber is one of those types of rubber that are easy to cure and manufacture, cost-effective and have a consistent quality. Silicone rubber sometimes prove better than many other organic rubber types and is known for its wide range of complementary physical, mechanical and chemical properties, some of which can be listed as follows.

• High- and low-temperature stability as well as compression resistance
• Silicone rubber is flexibility
• It has better tear strength , long-term tensile strength and elongation properties
• Silicone tubings may be given varying degrees of softness and hardness
• They are chemical resistant , ozone and oxidation resistance as well as weathering and aging resistance
• ozone and oxidation resistance .
• As silicone rubber is fungus resistance, the tubings made from it are widely preferred in the medical industry.

Silicone Rubber Tubing- Disadvantages

Silicone Rubber TubingSilicone rubber is not recommended to be used in most of the concentration of solvent, oil, concentrated acid and sodium hydroxide being diluted. While silicone tubing is preferred by medical industry but there is one disadvantage of this tube which relates to its cleaning- it is difficult to clean it and the inner tube (placed inside human body) may be more difficult to reinsert than would a tube made of metal. However, it is believed that the properties of silicone rubber like that of flexibility and comfort outweigh its disadvantages.

Latex Tubing and Silicone Tubing Compared

Many studies, especially in medical field, have been conducted to test the suitability of surgical rubber tubings made of latex and silicone. One of such comparisons of latex and silicone rubber T-tubes draining the common bile duct in the Rhesus monkey showed that both tubes excite an adequate local tissue reaction but latex rubber degenerated more rapidly than silicone rubber. It was suggested that silicone rubber T-tubes have a place in human biliary surgery, especially when long-term drainage of the biliary tract is needed. Also, the incidence of allergic reactions to latex is on the rise, the use of non latex alternatives such as the silicone rubber tubing is increasing.