Working with a leading medical device manufacturer, Clariant Plastics and Coatings Healthcare Polymer Solutions has completed development and testing of new polymer materials specially formulated to resist degradation caused by exposure to high humidity and temperature.
The new technology is especially important in resins that incorporate high loadings of radiopaque metals, because these fillers are known to exacerbate the degradation effect.
The new compounds, marketed under the MEVOPUR brand name covering Clariant’s medical grade materials, are expected to be useful in applications such as medical catheters.
Steve Duckworth, Global Head of Marketing and Business Development at Clariant, said: “The problem is when these devices are exposed to heat and humidity over time, the polymer chains responsible for developing critical physical and mechanical properties become broken and the functionality of the device, and patient safety, may be seriously compromised.”
“The final quality and reliability of catheter components relies on the stability of predictability of polymer material properties over a wide range of conditions.”
“Our testing on the new MEVOPUR radiopaque compounds shows the risk of polymer degradation from hydrolysis can be significantly reduced so predictability can be restored. This also demonstrates the importance of long-term collaboration between the device manufacturer and a materials supplier like Clariant.”