Medical
Biocompatible products for the medical industry. We supply you with adhesives, elastomers and more.
What is biocompatibility?
Biocompatibility is the ability of a material to NOT cause an immunological response or interact with human tissue. Material that is to be used within medical applications are tested according to certain standards and are ultimately recommended for evaluation for certain types of use. Biocompatibility testing is performed according to certain standards wich can result in different medical grades.
What medical grades are there to choose from?
There are mainly two medical testing standards to be aware of: USP Class VI och ISO-10993. USP Class VI is an older and less strict medical classification than ISO-10993.
A number of tests are performed within both USP Class VI och ISO-10993. They include for example hemolysis, cytotoxicity, sensitisation and implantation. For more information concerning a specific manufacturer's testing methods, contact us!
Medical adhesives for implantation can also be recommended for implantation permanently or only short term with the number of days specified.
Among our selection of medical adhesives and materials are:
Medical silicones from Nusil are avaliable in all forms: adhesives, coatings, LSR, HCR, gels among others as well as with varying types of curing systems. Nusil has silicones suitable for both short- and long-term implantation. Selector guide short-term and long-term implantation.
Epo-Tek has a selection of medically approved epoxies. For example optical adhesives, thermally conductive and electrically conductive with various medical classifications. UV-curing epoxy adhesives are also avaliable from Epo-Tek. Selector guide here.
What type of sterilization is suitable?
Medical adhesives and silicones are often developed to be able to withstand commons sterilization methods such as gamma radiation, EtO, autoclave and E-beam. Many factors can influence the results and it is therefore important to verify the method for the specific material and application in question. Generally, it can however be said that:
|
Lim |
EtO |
Gamma/E-Beam |
Autoklav |
|
UV-akrylat (Dymax) |
Compatible1 |
Compatible2 |
Not recommended |
|
Silikon (Nusil) |
Compatible3 |
Compatible4 |
In some cases1 |
|
Epoxi (Epo-Tek) |
Compatible |
Compatible4 |
Compatible |
|
Cyanoakrylat (Permabond) |
Compatible |
Compatibe |
Not recommended |
1. Possibly slightly lowered adhesion.
3. Wait at least 24 hours after sterilization before use.
4. May induce small changes in mechanical properties (primarily durometer and flexibility) and discolouration.
Contact us for advice and help to find an appropriate adhesive, epoxy or silicone for your needs!