INDUSTRY NEWS
Bayer MaterialScience AG (Leverkusen, Germany) has expanded its family of medical-grade thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU) with Texin 285, Desmopan DP 2590A, and Desmopan DP 9370A. The medical-grade resins have been customized for the medical market and meet the requirements of ISO 10993 Part 1, making them suitable for 30-day indirect blood contact applications. Other properties of these medical-grade TPUs include clarity and resistance to chemicals, lipids, abrasion, wear, and staining, as well as to mould and fungi. In addition, the materials are sterilizable using radiation, ethylene oxide, and dry heat.
The medical-grade Texin 285 TPU is formulated for use in extrusion, injection moulding, and blown-film processing. With its abrasion resistance and mouldability, the resin is suited for a variety of applications, including wound dressings, fabric coatings, tubing, packaging and films, and soft touch grips.
Designed for blown-film manufacturing, Desmopan DP 2590A TPU may be used for wound dressings, fabric coatings, packaging and films, and surgical drapes. This TPU resin features high tear strength and puncture resistance.
Desmopan DP 9370A TPU is the softest medical-grade TPU in the company’s portfolio, making it suited for use in catheters, tubing, and soft-grip applications. Capable of being extruded or injection moulded, the resin features high hydrolytic stability and microbe resistance.
Antimicrobial resin introduced
Bayer has also introduced an antimicrobial resin that it developed in response to studies indicating the rate of hospital infections are increasing as a result of antibiotic resistance. Suited for a variety of medical device applications, the company’s Makrolon polycarbonate resins offer antimicrobial properties as a result of their silver content. Silver is toxic for microorganisms yet generally well tolerated by human cells.
Advances in antimicrobial technology now permit the use of silver-based inorganic antimicrobials in engineering thermoplastics to control the growth of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria on the surface of medical devices. Incorporating these antimicrobials into thermoplastics provides the potential to reduce the growth of bacteria on a medical device, and does not pose an appreciable risk of contributing to bacterial resistance.
Two developmental grades of antimicrobial Makrolon polycarbonate—grades DP1-1868 and DP1-1869—have different levels of efficacy. With both grades, the antimicrobial additive is a component of the Makrolon polycarbonate formulation. Stain testing conducted by the firm shows that bacteria on untreated polycarbonate grow unabated, while bacteria growth on the antimicrobial Makrolon polycarbonate is virtually nonexistent.
Potential applications for antimicrobial Markrolon polycarbonate resin include intravenous access systems, urological devices, and housing for diagnostic or hospital equipment.
For more information about these materials, contact Bayer Material Science AG, Geb. K12, Kaiser-Wilhelm-Allee, 51368 Leverkusen, Germany; phone: +49 214 301; fax: +49 214 3096 38810; e-mail: scott.hunsberger@bayerbms.com; Internet: www.bayermaterialscience.com.
