Ranica Arrowsmith, Associate Editor03.10.16
Plastics are perennially under the regulatory microscope, as the material and all its variations are eminently manufacturable, cheap, durable and easily manipulated. Therefore, plastics are found in everything from thumbtacks to spaceships—and, of course, medical devices, both external and implantable. Depending on the type of polymer used, the material is also easy to keep sterile; and because plastics can be light and as mentioned before very cheap to produce, they are also the obvious choice for disposable devices.
But a lot goes on under the surface of the various plastics in use in medtech—some examples of which are polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA). In the manufacture of plastics, fillers are used to improve performance and/or reduce production cost. For medical devices, often fibrous materials such as glass or carbon are added to resins to create reinforced grades with enhanced physical or mechanical properties. For example, adding 30 percent short glass fibers by weight to nylon 6 improves creep resistance and increases stiffness by 300 percent. However, these gl
But a lot goes on under the surface of the various plastics in use in medtech—some examples of which are polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA). In the manufacture of plastics, fillers are used to improve performance and/or reduce production cost. For medical devices, often fibrous materials such as glass or carbon are added to resins to create reinforced grades with enhanced physical or mechanical properties. For example, adding 30 percent short glass fibers by weight to nylon 6 improves creep resistance and increases stiffness by 300 percent. However, these gl
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