Polypropylene A Crucial Part Of The Medical Market

The polymer polypropylene is becoming increasingly important in the medical market

with regards to the manufacturing of medical equipment such as trays and instrument parts.

PlasticTodays Doug Smock said that polypropylene a semicrystalline polymer that plays host to amorphous and semicrystalline regions is becoming pivotal in the medical industrys battle to save money and in finding more environmentally friendly applications.

Polypropylene doesnt contain the heat resistance and structural assets of polycarbonate, the impact resistance of polyester, the same resistance as polystyrene, but it does contain a very good balance of all these assets, Mr Smock went on to explain.

Furthermore, polypropylene material is manufacturing through the use of flowrapping machines that allows the materials to be bent and moulded into certain sizes.

As well as having application in the medical market, it is also used in the food, agriculture, packaging and transport markets.

Mr Smock further added that one of the most interesting applications of polypropylene was by the Swiss manufacturer, Quadrant who produce machinable plastics and machined plastic parts.

The company which is located in Lenzburg, has manufactured parts from plates of heat-stabilized polypropylene that can survive repeated steam and autoclave sterilization cycles.

Moreover, the material is highly resilient against cleaning agents, disinfectants and other solvents, thus making it the ideal material for producing surgical trays, caddies and instrument components.

"Materials with excellent cost-performance ratio are the future in a more and more sensitive medical and life science Industry," Stefan Willing, global market segment manager for life science at Quadrant, said to PlasticsToday.

"In addition, proof of biocompatibility and controls are prerequisites for sustainable material qualifications."

In order to use in polypropylene in manufacturing medical products a number of barriers need to be overcome, Mr Smock stated.

An example of these problems is radio frequency welding of nonpolar plastics. Robert Smith has spent a lot of time and effort in developing a process called ecoGenesis that allows the sealing of polypropylene in very thin gauges.

PVC is one of the leading plastics players in the medical industry which is reflected in the 40% share of the market.

However, this could soon change.

"Look for PP's percentage to grow," Mr Smock added.

by: Brendan Wilde

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