Bayer Displays Needle-Free IV System Using Lipid-Resistant Polycarbonate Resin at MD&M East
Bayer Corporation's Polymers Division will display the first application utilizing the company's Makrolon DP1-1805 lipid-resistant polycarbonate resin at MD&M East, June 2-4, 1998. The highly transparent resin helps alleviate cracking in high-stress applications where there is contact with intravenous fluid products, particularly lipid emulsions.
B. Braun Medical Inc. implemented the Makrolon DP1-1805 lipid-resistant polycarbonate resin on products of the SAFSITE needle-free IV system in 1997. "Lipid resistance was the main attraction for investigating the Makrolon DP1-1805 resin," says James P. Roma, senior materials engineer for B. Braun Medical. "Offering our IV System in a lipid-resistant material was a breakthrough. It's easier to process than other materials we've worked with, from drying to its flow mold. We can solvent-bond this polycarbonate. The increased chemical resistance in a polycarbonate material is an added value quality we can offer our customers."
Bayer Corp.'s Polymer Division also recently aided in the redesign of a 14-year old medical device with a new medical-grade Lustran acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) resin. The Mahurkar dual lumen catheter from Sherwood, Davis & Geck features a Y-shaped catheter hub made from Bayer's Lustran ABS 348-2002 sno-white resin. Bayer worked with the OEM throughout the design process, from initial planning stages to material selection to molding trials.
Design engineers at the OEM worked directly with materials specialists at Bayer's Application Development Center, who evaluated samples of the catheter hub and recommended improvements to the part design, mold design and processing. They also suggested ways to improve the overall assembly of the catheter. The resin supplier also developed new guidelines to improve the bonding of the catheter's implant length to the catheter hub. To help the OEM understand the shelf life of the product, Bayer provided long-term aging data on Lustran ABS 348.
The manufacturer previously used Bayer's Lustran ABS 248 resin in the device construction, but moved to Lustran ABS 348 resin after its introduction in 1997. Now considered Bayer's flagship ABS resin for the medical market, Lustran ABS 348 resin offers intermediate-abuse resistance and rigidity as well as thermal stability during processing. Lustran 348 resin can be sterilized using radiation or ethylene oxide and is ideal for applications such as IV systems, diagnostic test kits and surgical instruments.