Medical Device Link.

Tecvac Ltd. (Cambridge, England) and Portal Medical Ltd. (Denbighshire, England) have developed gas plasma technology that has applications in cardiology and orthopedics. The low-temperature technology can be used with ceramics, metals, polymers, and polymer fabrics. Portal Medical is using a unit developed with Tecvac to meet increased capacity demands for plasma processing services. Portal Medical is currently developing technologies for surface modification of medical materials. One such project reduces drug adherence to the surfaces of delivery devices. The technologies are intended to enhance the surface adhesion and biocompatibility of polymer surfaces and contribute to surface cleanliness. The plasma technology modifies polymer surfaces that are ready for assembly. It can also control cross links in the polymerization process to create specified permeability, wetting, and adhesion characteristics. The Tecvac unit uses pulsed radio-frequency gas excitation, which produces energetic plasma at low processing temperatures. Polymer surfaces can be cleaned and sterilized to meet surgical standards without the need for aggressive cleaning treatments.