Eastman, the world's leading supplier of specialty plastics, will appear at CHINAPLAS 2018 from April 24-27, and will show its new generation Eastman MXF221 Polyester products. Eastman MXF221 is a newly developed medical grade copolyester for medical device housings and hardware. It has excellent chemical resistance, can withstand strong disinfectants used to reduce hospital infections (HAIs), and has Higher durability and impact strength.
Tammy Trivette, Eastman Specialty Plastics Medical Platform Marketing Director, said: "Today's medical environment places ever more pressing demands on better-performing plastics as well as more advanced test methods and product design. As the market and regulatory environment continue to evolve, Device manufacturers must consider the critical role of materials in all stages of product development. Eastman provides technical services to device manufacturers throughout the product development process to help them develop devices that meet the requirements of the clinical environment. "
Eastman materials can be used to make key components of non-implantable medical devices, including: syringes, minimally invasive surgical instruments, blood contact systems, medical tubing, intravenous fluid components, and kidney treatment devices. Eastman MXF221 is produced through extrusion blending. It has inherent resistance to discoloration and cracking. It is suitable for electronic medical equipment housings and hardware.
The research results of Dr. Yubiao Liu, Eastman Application Development Manager, show that Eastman MXF221 has better performance than many traditional medical devices and materials. To assess the material's long-term resistance to hospital disinfectants, Eastman developed a simple, reproducible, four-step test. Eastman MXF221 has excellent chemical resistance to a variety of strong disinfectants, and can retain more than 90% of its original impact strength after exposure to strong disinfectants, which is far superior to similar materials such as polycarbonate mixtures.
Wang Liang, Eastman`s Asia-Pacific medical market development manager, said: “As the Chinese medical industry ’s sterilization standards become more stringent, strengthening sterilization regulations is a big trend. In the long run, the scientific choice of materials for medical devices and their housings can extend medical treatment. Device life, increased operational reliability, and savings in hospital system costs. As a leading supplier of materials solutions, Eastman is committed to helping customers choose the right materials for their products. "
In addition to Eastman MXF221 for medical device housings, Eastman's product line includes: Tritan ™ copolyester for medical devices, Eastar copolyester 6763 for medical rigid packaging, and for infusion bags Ecdel elastomer, and Eastman 168 ™ non-phthalate plasticizer.