Materials, Adhesives & Coatings

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.

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.

Flexible Material Offers Promise for Self-Powered Wearable Sensors

Could clothing monitor a person’s health in real time, because the clothing itself is a self-powered sensor? A new material created through electrospinning, which is a...

Innovative Tech Enables Shape Memory Dental Aligners

A new technology incorporates a shape memory material for clear plastic dental aligners, an alternative to traditional metal braces.

PRIME Project Launches to Strengthen Nitinol Supply Chain

Five leading companies in the medical device industry have launched the PRIME project — a strategic initiative dedicated to advancing the consistency, scalability, and performance of...

New Products and Services

See the new products and services, including Dymax's expanded portfolio of TPO-free light-curable materials; Instron's advanced noncontacting video extensometer; Würth Elektronik's extended RGB LED product series; Arnold Magnetic Technologies' line of high-energy flexible magnets; and 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...

Advanced Laser Welding Techniques for Titanium Pacemaker Housing: Achieving Precision, Reliable and Hermetic Sealing

A pacemaker is a small device that helps control your heartbeat so you can return to your normal life. It has three main...

2024 Sustainability Stakeholder Study - Healthcare

In 2024, Plastics Ingenuity interviewed a share of the stakeholders in the healthcare packaging sector. These organizations include medical device manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, biotech products, and life science applications. Read on to learn more.

Qosina Partners with Sealed Air to Offer Bioprocessing Bag Film

Qosina, a distributor of single-use medical and biopharmaceutical components, has formed a strategic partnership with Sealed Air, a provider of high-performance packaging...

Video Spotlight on Products and Services

See where the video spotlight is this month: on CNC machining; micro linear actuators; a lab tube cutting machine; the 601 series Air Turbine Spindle® mills at 90,000 RPM; MD® multipurpose adhesives; and much more.

Project Set to Develop New Sustainable Materials for Application In Bioprocessing

An industry-academia collaboration to advance sustainable bioprocessing through innovative materials for additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing, has been announced by Innovate UK (IUK), as part of the “Sustainable Medicines Manufacturing Innovation: Collaborative R&D Fund.” Read on to learn more.

System Optimizes Behavior of 3D Printed Materials

A system has been developed to optimize the electrical, thermal, and mechanical behavior of 3D-printed materials. A team has developed an innovative computational model that makes it possible to predict and improve the behavior of multifunctional structures manufactured using 3D printers. Read on to learn more.

Additive Manufacturing of Biomedical Metals for Medical Implant Fabrication

Biomedical metal implant materials are widely used in clinical applications, including dental implants, hip replacement, bone plates, and screws. However, traditional manufacturing processes face limitations in meeting customized medical needs, internal structural control, and efficient material utilization. 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.

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.

Tiny Spectral Sensor Identifies Materials

Researchers have combined miniaturized hardware and intelligent algorithms to create a cost-effective, compact powerful tool capable of solving real-world problems in areas like healthcare. 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.

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.

Proposed Surgical Devices Standard Covers Properties for Nickel Titanium Alloy

ASTM International’s medical and surgical devices committee (F04) is developing a proposed standard for a wrought nickel-titanium alloy. The alloy covered by the...

Guest Blog: Business Goals Drive Shifts in Materials

The medical device industry constantly evaluates product and packaging materials and designs to meet business objectives, sustainability targets, and changing consumer preferences. Tactics...

Biomimetic Speaking Valve Increases Safety of Tracheostomized Patients

A research team from the University of Freiburg and the Medical Center – University of Freiburg has developed a novel biomimetic speaking valve technology that could significantly increase the safety of tracheostomized patients. Read on to learn more.

New Products and Services

See the new products and services, including a new reciprocating head for medical tubing from Guill Tool; EpoxySet's state-of-the-art UV adhesives, the UV-8675, specifically designed for bonding PVC tubing in medical devices; Mahr Inc.'s expanded length measurement product line; Zeus' latest addition to its StreamLiner series of ultra-thin-walled catheter liners; and more.

Smart Textile Senses Light, Pressure, Smell, and Even Taste

Researchers have developed a multifunctional sensor based on semiconductor fibers that emulates the five human senses. The technology developed in the study is expected to be utilized in fields such as wearables, Internet of Things (IoT), electronic devices, and soft robotics. Read on to learn more.

Sensitive Ceramics for Robotics, Prosthetics

Researchers are developing soft sensor materials based on ceramics. Such sensors can feel temperature, strain, pressure, or humidity, for instance, which makes them interesting for use in medicine, but also in the field of soft robotics. Read on to learn more.