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Welcome to Bayer MaterialScience's Polycarbonate eUpdate.
This electronic newsletter will provide you with an inside look at Bayer’s latest polycarbonate products, related application highlights, design ideas and other newsworthy polycarbonate-related information.
In this issue, you will not only learn about the newest additions to the Bayblend® family of PC/ABS resins, but also explore several innovative medical applications for Makrolon® polycarbonate.
Thanks and we hope you enjoy this informative and easy-to-read information resource. You are welcome to contact us via e-mail with comments, questions or requests at makrolonpc@bayer.com.
You registered for this e-mail newsletter on our Web site at www.bayermaterialsciencenafta.com. If you do not wish to receive this e-newsletter in the future, just scroll to the bottom of this issue and use the unsubscribe link.
Product Spotlight
Bayer MaterialScience Introduces First Medical-Grade PC/ABS Blends
Bayer MaterialScience LLC (BMS) has expanded its offerings of Bayblend® PC/ABS (polycarbonate/acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene) blend resins with the introduction of Bayblend® DP M850 and Bayblend® DP M850 XF resins – the company’s first medical-grade PC/ABS blends.
Together, the latest additions to the Bayblend family exhibit a favorable combination of properties:
Both new Bayblend PC/ABS grades are recommended for opaque medical applications, such as components for surgical instruments, diagnostic devices, drug delivery systems and IV systems. Acceptable sterilization methods include ethylene oxide (EtO), gamma radiation, and electron beam radiation.
More detailed information about Bayblend PC/ABS blend resins – including data sheets, certifications and product literature – is available on BayerMaterialScienceNAFTA.com.
New Application Highlight
Makrolon® PC Helps Orqis Medical Redefine Heart Failure Therapy
Makrolon® 2558 polycarbonate (PC) resin from BMS is used for molding multiple components of the Cancion System, a device from Orqis Medical Corporation that serves to minimize damage to fragile blood cells and reduce clotting.
Due to its biocompatibility, robustness and excellent clarity, Makrolon PC was the material selected by Lake Forest, Calif.-based Orqis Medical for the catheter connectors in the Cancion System. The catheters facilitate blood flow throughout the patient’s arteries.
“Unlike the Cancion system, very few catheters are designed for long-term use with blood continuously flowing through them,” said Robert Pecor, senior R&D engineer for Orqis, attesting to the durability of Makrolon PC.
The same attributes of biocompatibility, robustness and excellent clarity prompted Levitronix® LLC of Waltham, Mass., to choose Makrolon PC for its CentriMag® Blood Pump, a key component of the Orqis System.
The CentriMag centrifugal pump, assembled from four Makrolon PC parts and a magnet, uses magnetic levitation to create the fluid dynamics necessary for circulatory support applications. The magnet is encased in two white PC components, creating the pump’s impeller. The impeller itself floats inside a clear PC housing made of two parts bonded together.
Makrolon 2558 PC is an easy-flow polycarbonate resin with outstanding impact strength and ductility, excellent electrical properties and dimensional stability. Certain color formations have met the requirements of the FDA-modified ISO 10993, Part 1 “Biological Evaluation of Medical Devices” tests.
“It speaks to Makrolon’s strengths for medical applications that it was chosen separately by two discerning customers for use in this pioneering therapeutic tool,” explains Kevin Dunay, BMS LLC NAFTA Market Segment Leader for Medical.
For more information about the Cancion System, click here.
New Application Highlight
Makrolon PC Contributes to DALI® Adsorber Housings
Germany-based Fresenius Medical Care has developed a new technology called DALI® (Direct Adsorption of Lipoproteins), which enables LDL cholesterol to be extracted from the blood through a process called therapeutic apheresis.
The main component of this technology, used in the treatment of patients suffering from lipometabolic disorders, is an adsorber filled with a special material that bonds the LDL cholesterol. To ensure durability and safety of the adsorber’s housing, a plastic with excellent impact resistance was required.
The first choice when approached about this application was Makrolon® 2458 PC from BMS. The polycarbonate material is sufficiently tough and stiff to protect the adsorber housing from becoming easily damaged in the everyday hospital environment. The material also readily withstands the pressurized steam sterilization of the adsorber in the DALI system, where temperatures reach at least 250°F for more than 20 minutes.
A further benefit of the polycarbonate is its high transparency, which allows visual monitoring of the blood treatment by hospital personnel, thereby enhancing patient safety. Makrolon 2458 PC also meets the biocompatibility requirements of the FDA-modified ISO 10993-1 tests.
For more information about the DALI adsorber housing, click here.
New Application Highlight
Makrolon PC Used in Micro Forceps and Scissors
To help combat vision-impairing retinal disease, medical technology manufacturer Alcon Grieshaber AG has developed a new generation of surgical instruments. The Grieshaber Revolution™ DSP micro forceps and scissors have an advantage over similar commercial instruments in that they can be freely rotated while being used. This innovative function is made possible in part by a plastic basket of thin-walled ribs that forms part of the body of these instruments.
When designing the thin-walled ribs, Makrolon® 2458 PC from BMS was called upon for its strength, stiffness and toughness. This polycarbonate material boasts excellent dimensional stability, which makes it possible for the delicate, injection-molded component to be easily demolded, and for the forceps or scissors to work reliably.
Of the single-use operating instrument’s individual components, eight are made of Makrolon PC.
For more information about the Grieshaber Revolution DSP micro forceps and scissors, click here .
Information about Bayer Polycarbonate Resins
Visit our Bayer MaterialScience NAFTA Web Site for a wide range of information on Makrolon® polycarbonate (PC), Bayblend® PC/ABS, Makroblend® PC/Polyester and Apec® high-heat PC resins. You can find the links pictured at right in the Products section of the site. Simply select a product family, such as Makrolon, then look for the Find Out More links on the right side of the Web page. Among the information you will find are:
- Data Sheets
- Viscosity data
- Design and processing literature
- Product literature (brochures)
- Case studies
When you need information about Bayer MaterialScience products, the answer is closer than ever with the new search engine on www.BayerMaterialScienceNAFTA.com.
Thanks and we hope you enjoy this informative and easy-to-read information resource. You are welcome to contact us via e-mail with comments, questions or requests at makrolonpc@bayer.com.
You registered for this e-mail newsletter on our Web site at www.bayermaterialsciencenafta.com. If you do not want to receive this e-newsletter in the future, just scroll to the bottom of this issue and use the unsubscribe link.
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