Have You Considered These Five Popular Materials For Your Next Medical Device?

It’s always an exciting time in the world of materials. Researchers and manufacturers continue to refine current materials, develop new materials, and even find ways to reuse old materials to help preserve our world’s resources. If you are in the midst of designing a new medical device, don’t just fall back on the plastics and other materials you already know. In this short article, we take a look at five popular materials that each possess unique and useful properties that can help enhance your medical device.

Polycarbonates

Polycarbonates have been a popular medical device material for a long time and with good reason. This clear, inert material molds and extrudes easily. It is also significantly cheaper than many other options on the market and can easily be colored. Recently, manufacturers have developed new polycarbonates that resist solvents. You’ll find polycarbonates in catheter hubs, connectors, and medical devices throughout the industry. Polycarbonates have been suffering recently from the growing suspicion of BPA, (which polycarbonates contain). The FDA hasn’t found any issues with the use of polycarbonates to construct medical devices, but some companies are adding warning labels to their products anyway.

Silicone

Silicone is a soft, gas-permeable material that resists high temperatures and chemicals. It can be used to insulate electrical contacts or as instrument grips. Silicone is often used in shunts, joint replacements, balloons, heart valves, and even contact lenses. It is also used in breast implants after a review by the FDA found that it was safe. The drawbacks to silicone are that it is more expensive that thermoplastics and the processing cycles tend to be longer.

PEEK

When you need an extremely hard and sturdy material for your medical device, polyether ether ketone, (PEEK), is a good choice. PEEK is so hard and inert that it is often used in spinal implants and bone screws. This material is reliable and can be molded to stand up to high temperatures. On the downside, PEEK is very difficult to process, which accounts for its high cost. You may be looking at as much as $1,000 a pound for this tough stuff.

Fluoropolymers

If you need a high barrier material that won’t adhere to drugs or fluids, fluoropolymers are definitely worth considering. This soft, self-lubricating material is often used in tubing, tissue trays, drug bottles and as a coating. Fluoropolymers can now be injection-molded, which makes them even more versatile and valuable for your medical device production. However, make sure you budget smartly for this expensive material.

Reclaimed PET

Is it really possible that today’s discarded water bottles and soda bottles can become part of the next lifesaving medical device? It is with reclaimed polyethylene terephthalate (PET). The reclaiming process gets rid of all the contaminants from the plastic’s previous use, making it completely clean and ready for reuse in your next medical device. Not only can your medical device help protect a life, it can help protect the planet by keeping plastic bottles out of landfills!

If you’d like to learn more about any of these materials or find out some other great materials available for medical device production, please contact Source Point Associates at (925) 516-2082.