High performance medical polycarbonate products address evolving needs

In medical applications ranging from drug delivery pens and pumps to intravenous access components and surgical instruments used to assist patients – polycarbonate is there.  

Used in applications where strength, heat resistance and toughness are necessary, polycarbonates from Covestro exemplify the innovation, safety and biocompatibility that medical device manufacturers across the world have come to know and trust.

Covestro offers a range of high-performance, medical-grade polycarbonate plastics that are used in demanding applications in the healthcare industry. Makers of medical devices rely on Covestro to provide technically advanced material that can help meet the critical design, manufacturing and end-use performance parameters of a variety of medical devices.

A material portfolio evolving to meet emerging industry trends

With more than 50 years of experience supporting medical applications, Covestro continues to expand its material offerings to help manufacturers meet requirements for life-enhancing applications. Recently launched were new families of medical grade polycarbonate designed to be used in devices that patients and medical professionals can rely on.

Our polymer portfolio provides options to help you find the material best suiting the requirements of your medical device or healthcare application. These medical grade plastics, biocompatible per ISO 10993-1 test requirements, are available in pellet form and typically processed by injection molding. Below is an overview of these products and their properties.

Best-in-class chemical resistance

Solutions that can be counted on: when a patient needs life-saving medical treatment, everything must work as designed, right down to the plastic used in luers, stopcocks and other IV connectors. However, not all materials are created equal. Inferior materials often cannot withstand cleaning agents, or tolerate aggressive solvents found in oncology drugs and other treatments, which results in cracking and damage to critical components.

Makrolon® Rx3440 polycarbonate, a medical polycarbonate from Covestro, offers superior durability and chemical resistance to help prevent cracking so that healthcare professionals can more safely deliver oncology and other drugs to patients.

Compared with other transparent resins used for IV access components, comprehensive lab testing has shown that Makrolon® Rx3440 polycarbonate provides best-in-class chemical and oncology drug resistance. This material also demonstrates excellent dimensional stability under stress stress to provide more reliable IV connections.

Smooth drug delivery with low-friction polycarbonate

The needs of the modern consumer are evolving. More and more, patients are using autoinjectors and injection pens to self-administer therapeutics from the comfort of their own home or while on the go. These medical devices are expected to operate consistently every time, and utilize low-friction plastic components to help provide injections that are reliable and smooth.

To meet these challenging low-friction requirements, Covestro offers three medical grade polycarbonates: Makrolon® M204 LF, Makrolon® M402 LF and Makrolon® M404 LF. Featuring reduced coefficients of friction, these grades deliver the excellent dimensional and mechanical properties of polycarbonate while eliminating the need for external lubricants.

Superior strength with glass-filled polycarbonate

In the operating room, precision is key. To address these unique needs, Covestro also developed glass-filled polycarbonates for surgical and drug delivery applications that demand stiffness and strength, such as load-bearing internal components for drug delivery devices and handles for minimally invasive or laparoscopic surgical tools.

These grades are divided into two series with varying levels of reinforcement. The high-performance series includes Makrolon® M810 GF, Makrolon® M820 GF and Makrolon® M830 GF polycarbonate. In the high-flow series, Makrolon® M410 GF, Makrolon® M420 GF and Makrolon® M430 GF polycarbonate are used for filling larger or thinner parts with improved productivity.

Medical grade materials from Covestro meet the design requirements of human-centered devices without compromising the various performance factors so important to the healthcare industry.