Trinseo | Trinseo Targets Medical Sector with Biocompatible Glass-Filled Polycarbonate
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Corporate News

October 31, 2018

Trinseo Targets Medical Sector with Biocompatible Glass-Filled Polycarbonate

Trinseo  (NYSE: TSE) a global materials solutions provider and manufacturer of plastics, latex binders and synthetic rubber, is targeting the medical devices market with its biocompatible glass-filled polycarbonate resins. Trinseo’s CALIBRE™ 5000 series is an ideal material for metal substitution not only because of its strength and stiffness, but its added advantages of aesthetics, ergonomic improvements, and potential cost savings.

“As minimally-invasive surgeries increase and cost pressures continue to mount, Trinseo’s glass-filled polycarbonate is ideal for a variety of surgical tools and surgery access instruments,” said Arthas Yang, global marketing manager in Trinseo’s Performance Plastics business. “The material can be incorporated into a variety of applications, according to design and regulatory requirements, and can help manufacturers with their goals of lowering cost and increasing speed-to-market.”

Glass-filled materials have been used in numerous application areas for years. What differentiates Trinseo’s CALIBRE™ 5000 series is the fact that it has undergone extensive biocompatibility testing according to ISO 10993 standards to provide medical device manufacturers with added assurance of compliancy and patient safety.  

The CALIBRE™ 5000 series offers the following:

  • Custom glass content of up to 30 percent
  • Full battery of ISO 10993 biocompatibility testing
  • UL flammability ratings
  • Sterilizable  by EtO, gamma, and e-beam radiation

From an aesthetic perspective the material can be colored for branding and parts-identification purposes. Due to its processability and the design flexibility it allows, parts can be consolidated for cost savings and simplified assembly, reducing the number of seams and crevasses where bacteria can grow.  

Trinseo has supported the medical devices market for three decades.  The company offers a variety of plastics under the brands CALIBRE™ and CALIBRE™ MEGARAD™ Polycarbonate Resins, EMERGE™ Advanced Resins, MAGNUM™ ABS  Resins, and STYRON™ Polystyrene Resins.  Thermoplastic elastomers offered by Trinseo for soft-touch medical applications are MEGOL™ MED TPS-SEBS Compounds and RAPLAN™ MED TPS-SBS Compounds.