DuPont Co.'s engineering polymers unit introduced a dozen resin grades at the Medical Design & Manufacturing West show in Anaheim. The resins are for use in nonimplantable health-care products and equipment.
The high-performance polymers target the special needs of makers of medical and pharmaceutical devices and equipment, said Cynthia Crouch, the unit's global health-care business manager.
Nine of the materials are grades of the firm's Hytrel thermoplastic polyester elastomer. The other materials are Delrin polyacetal with low volatile emissions, a Zytel nylon with low moisture absorption and a Zenite liquid-crystal-polymer resin with good barrier properties and chemical inertness, according to the company.
Wilmington, Del.-based DuPont touts the Hytrel grades as not having plasticizers, in contrast to flexible PVC. DuPont said Hytrel, unlike available alternative TPEs, resists disinfectants, other aggressive chemicals and elevated temperatures. Further, Hytrel is suitable for gamma-ray sterilization and accepts color additives.
The new Hytrel grades range from flexible to rigid with Shore D hardness of 40-82, offer performance, design and cost benefits and show resistance to flex fatigue, flex-cut growth, tearing, abrasion and creep, according to DuPont.
In another development, DuPont's medical and industrial packaging unit introduced versions of its Tyvek spun-bonded polyolefin: 2FS for form-fill-seal applications, 1059B for medium-risk applications, and Asuron and 1073B for high-level protection in demanding applications.