For more than 25 years, this comfortably soft medical fabric has been considered an industry standard, THE reference for medical gowns and drapes, providing operating room personnel around the world with everyday protection that just feels right. Chances are the single-use gown you currently wear in the operating theatre is made of this DuPont fabric, which set a new standard for protection, convenience and comfort when it was introduced.
Originally called Sontara®, it has been renamed DuPont™ Softesse™ medical fabric, a name that better describes this comfortably soft fabric for gowns and drapes sold by major gown and drapes distributors under a variety of brand names.
DuPont is known for its technological expertise in high-performance fabrics and fibres. Softesse™ is made without the use of binders, chemicals or adhesives, resulting in a high-purity fabric structure. This minimises the possibility of product contamination and allergic reactions by users. Available in a range of weights, colours and finishes to meet gown and drape manufactures’ specifications, Softesse™
meets the current proposal of performance requirements of the European Standard EN 13795 for surgical gowns, drapes and clean air suits that is intended to be finalised in 2006. Softesse™ also meets the Standard for Flammability of Clothing Textiles CPSC 16 CFR Part 1610.

Gowns made with Softesse™ fabric allow you to get the level of protection that you require, and they are available in un-reinforced, fabric-reinforced and poly-reinforced versions at the major gown distributors. The remarkable softness and high drapeability of Softesse™ help optimise your comfort and dexterity throughout operations. In fact, Softesse™ has better drapeability than any polypropylene SMS product on the market.

Used extensively in single-use patient and procedural drapes around the world, Softesse™ can be  treated to be absorbent or laminated to create a total barrier. Drapes of Softesse™ are strong and tear-resistant, yet conform easily, staying in place when they are positioned on a patient, without slipping or sliding. Also, they feature very high opacity, allowing greater patient modesty and minimising distracting glare in the operating theatre.

When used in surgical gowns and drapes, Softesse™ has a highly efficient repellent finish that acts as a barrier between the wound and body fluids and bacteria, which helps avoid blood exposure accidents. In addition, Softesse™ can be easily coated and laminated with various polymers, including: polyethylene, PVC, DuPont™ Hytrel®, polyester, and polyolefins to meet specific needs. And as a global leader in technology, DuPont is dedicated to the research and development of additional applications with their manufacturing partners in the medical fabrics industry.

DuPont Medical Fabrics are sold by DuPont as a roll goods and are not a medical device.  DuPont does not hold any medical device registration applicable to them. It is the responsibility of the medical device manufacturer, and not DuPont as a component supplier, to obtain appropriate medical device approval for any use or application to which DuPont Medical Fabrics are put.   The information provided  is based on data DuPont believes to be reliable, to the best of its knowledge.  The information provided applies only to the specific material designated herein as sold by DuPont and does not apply to use in any process or in combination with any other material or product. Accordingly, DuPont cannot guarantee or warrant such information and assumes no liability for its use.