Ensuring Fatigue Resistance of Polymer Welds for Medical Devices

As medical devices continue to evolve, the durability of polymer welds will remain a critical factor in product performance. Early assessment of fatigue resistance using methods like HACS analysis, combined with an understanding of materials and processes, will allow manufacturers to create more robust, reliable devices. Read on to learn more.

New Method More Accurately Predicts Stronger, Lighter 3D Printed Parts

Engineers at the University of Maine are developing a new method to more accurately predict the strength of light-weight 3D printed objects. This research, conducted at the university’s Advanced Structures and Composites Center, will enable designers to create more robust and reliable components by controlling strength when lightweighting virtually any plastic component. Read on to learn more.

Specialty Thermoplastics for Medical Tubing Address PFAS, Processing, and System Cost Challenges

Two promising options are polyetherimide resins and PEI-siloxane copolymers. These specialty thermoplastic materials not only are formulated without fluorine but also deliver desirable properties such as high heat and chemical resistance and low friction. Read on to learn more about them.

Shrinking Materials Hold Big Potential for Smart Devices

Wearable electronics could be more wearable, according to a research team at Penn State. The researchers developed a scalable, versatile approach to designing and fabricating wireless, Internet-enabled electronic systems that can better adapt to 3D surfaces. Read on to learn more.

Stretchable Waveguides Maintain Stable Transmission Even When Bent

Stretchable waveguides maintain efficient, stable signal transmission of surface plasmon polaritons even when bent, twisted, or stretched. These plasmonic waveguides could make...

Product of the Month

See the product of the month: SABIC's LNP™ and EXTEM™ thermoplastic resin grades engineered for compact medical components requiring high thermal and electrical performance.

Videos of the Month

See the videos of the month, including one on using microfluidic devices for gene therapy; one on resisting antibiotic resistance; one on a humanoid robot surgeon; and more.

New Products and Services

See the new products and services, including Syensqo's medical-grade polyphthalamide; non-PFAS low-retention additives for pipette tips from Avient; Binder's expanded M8 connector portfolio; fiber laser marking systems for UDI and traceability codes from FOBA; and more.

Advances in Polyimide Tubing for Next-Generation Medical Devices

Minimally invasive and interventional platforms increasingly demand smaller profiles, tighter tolerances, and components that maintain performance under thermal, chemical, and mechanical stress. Polyimide (PI) has emerged as a workhorse within these parameters. Read on to learn why.

Technology Makes ‘Shape Memory’ Dental Aligners

Researchers are testing a new technology that incorporates shape memory material for clear plastic dental aligners, an alternative to traditional metal braces. The clear aligners still need to be improved to the point that there are two materials — clear aligners and metal braces — that are as good as each other. Read on to learn more.

Conductive Polymer Improves Sensor-Based Devices

Scientists have produced a new, powerful electricity-conducting material that could improve wearable technologies, including medical devices. The new technique uses hyaluronic acid applied directly to a gold-plated surface to create a thinner, more durable film, or polymer, used to conduct electricity in devices like biosensors. Read on to learn more.

Laser Welding for Polymer Tubing: A New Solution for Adhesive- and Additive-Free Joining

Engineers at EWI have developed a new laser-based welding technique that enables the clean, reliable joining of clear-to-clear polymer tubing without the need for adhesives, solvents, colorants, or any chemical surface treatment. Read on to learn more.

Elevating Modern Drug-Delivery Devices with Advanced Polymers

In addressing the complex demands of drug-device integration, medical-grade thermoplastic polyurethanes provide a rare trifecta of tunable mechanics, chemical inertness and proven biocompatibility. While this polymer class is historically underutilized in drug delivery compared to more common materials like ethylene-vinyl acetate, it is increasingly favored in specialty product design for both extended release and implantable combination devices. Read on to learn more.

PHOx: An Innovative, Safer Polymer for Implantable Medical Devices

A team from the GIGA (Cardiology Laboratory) and the CESAM (Centre de recherche sur les macromolécules – CERM) at the University of Liège has developed PHOx, a thermoplastic elastomer without isocyanate PU (NIPU), which is therefore less toxic to produce and much better tolerated by the human body. Read on to learn more.

Fiber Computer Allows Apparel to Run Apps and “Understand” the Wearer

What if the clothes you wear could care for your health? MIT researchers have developed an autonomous programmable computer in the form of an elastic fiber, which could monitor health conditions and physical activity, alerting the wearer to potential health risks in real time. Read on to learn more about it.

3D Ink Improves Comfort, Durability of ‘Smart Wearables’

Researchers have demonstrated a 3D ink printing method for so-called smart fabrics that continues to perform well after repeated washings and abrasion tests. The research...

Wound Dressings Made of Drug-Releasing Polymers

Electrospinning has been used to produce polymer fibers containing the well-known antibacterial drug metronidazole. The mats formed could potentially be used as wound dressings, thanks to an...

Parallel Fluidics Produces Ultra-Precise Microfluidics Prototypes with CYROLITE® MD

The field of microfluidics is a key technology for the medicine of the future. Having already revolutionized the world of laboratory medicine by enabling samples to be analyzed much faster, it also plays a major role in the development of new drugs. Read on to learn about Parallel Fluidics, which specializes in rapid manufacturing of microfluidics prototypes for the life sciences sector.

Miniature Intra-Bone Implants Promote Healing

Research engineers are developing smart implants that can both monitor and promote healing in fractured bones. Read on to learn more.

Interlocking Metasurfaces Improve Structural Strength

Researchers have significantly improved a new joining technology, interlocking metasurfaces, designed to increase the strength and stability of a structure in comparison to traditional techniques like bolts and adhesives, using shape memory alloys. Read on to learn more.

Product of the Month

See the product of the month: Plastic Ingenuity's validated thermoformed ready-to-use pharma tubs. The tubs are comparable to traditional injection molded tubs; however, they offer rapid development, a lower cost of entry, and material reductions.

Insights into the State of the Plastics Processing Industry

In a time of evolving challenges and uncertainties, understanding the plastics marketplace has never been more critical for company leaders. A clear grasp of the industry’s current...

Prosthetic Material Could Help Reduce Infections from Intravenous Catheters

Published in the journal Scientific Reports, researchers have created realistic, skin-like replicas made of Ecoflex, a type of silicone rubber that can potentially serve as a platform to evaluate risks of bacterial infections from intravenous catheters and test wearable sensors, among other biomedical applications. Read on to learn what the study found.

Materials Help Manage Side Effects of Brain Pacemakers

A team at the Nanostructured and Novel Materials Laboratory at the University of Tabriz has created organic materials for brain and heart pacemakers that rely on uninterrupted signal delivery to be effective. Read on to learn more.

Streamlining Medical Device Development and Manufacturing Using Silicone Elastomers

This article compares high consistency silicone rubbers, liquid silicone rubbers, and low consistency elastomers, analyzing their characteristics and the implications in selecting each during different phases in the development of silicone medical devices. Read on to learn more.

Shaping the Future of Polymer Nanocarriers

Scientists have taken a significant step toward the development of tailor-made chiral nanocarriers with controllable release properties. These nanocarriers, inspired by nature’s helical molecules like DNA and proteins, hold immense potential for targeted drug delivery and other biomedical applications. Read on to learn more.

Elastomer Material Flexibility Optimizes Performance

When specifying a high-performance material for a medical device application, temperature, chemical environment and compatibility, hardness, compression set resistance, and certification considerations quickly build stringent material requirements. Expert suppliers consult with OEMs to think creatively, support product development, and collaborate to find solutions that will deliver necessary results.

Research Could Advance Soft Robotics Manufacturing, Design

A team of Rice University researchers has developed an analytical model that can predict the curing time of platinum-catalyzed silicone elastomers as a function of temperature. The model could help reduce energy waste and improve throughput for elastomer-based components manufacturing.

Videos of the Month

See the videos of the month, including one on a smart material that's activated by both heat and electricity, one on new materials and applications for medicine, one on a new 3D inkjet printing system that works with a much wider range of materials, and one on the next generation of polymers for 3D printing.