Medical devices represent both a challenge and an opportunity for plastics manufacturers.
On the one hand, medical devices give chemical engineers the opportunity to push the limits of polymer formulation. Disposable or reusable, stiff or flexible, clear or opaque, tiny or massive—there’s a material for any application. There are plastics designed for lubricity and plastics for a good grip. There are plastics formulated with antimicrobial agents, plastics that dispel static electricity, and plastics designed to replace hips, knees and other joints. There are even bioabsorbable polymers for temporary implants.