Bionics in the Plastics Industry
28/05/2025
Bionics is the science that transfers natural principles to technical developments. This principle is also widely applied in the plastics and rubber industry. This is because nature offers fascinating role models when it comes to the challenges of sustainability, resource efficiency and material requirements.
New Method Enables Rapid Production of Polymer Nanostructures
26/05/2025
Researchers at the University of Birmingham have introduced a method for the rapid and scalable production of polymer nanostructures. Reducing synthesis time from a week to just three minutes, their breakthrough supports high-throughput manufacturing for advanced applications in healthcare, energy and materials science.
Intelligent Material with Potential: Shape Memory Polyurethane Enables New Applications
07/05/2025
A film that remembers its original shape and turns into foam "at the touch of a button"? This is exactly what a research team at the Fraunhofer IAP is working on. The combination of poly-urethane and the shape memory effect results in a completely new material that can be stored as a space-saving film and transforms back into a high-performance foam structure when required.
Ultrasonic welding of plastic: joining technology for adhesive-free applications
20/02/2025
Anyone who has ever had to wear a plaster for a long time knows that this can sometimes irritate the skin. This is often triggered by the adhesives that hold the individual layers of a plaster together. Medical wearables, such as CGM sensors for diabetics, are also often glued together.
Opportunities and limitations of recyclates in medical technology
13/11/2024
One of the European Union's declared goals is sustainable development by 2030 - a development that does not stop at the medical technology industry. Gradical GmbH advises medical technology companies on the choice of materials for their applications.
3D printing: manufacturing eye prostheses from plastic
12/06/2024
Plastic eye prostheses: Lightweight, robust and natural in appearance - and now available via 3D printing. Find out more here!
SABIC: Advancing PFAS-Free Material Solutions
22/03/2024
SABIC unveils an expansion of its LNP™ LUBRILOY™ portfolio with innovative internally lubricated compounds, offering high-performance alternatives to PTFE-lubricated materials. This development addresses regulatory and health concerns over PFAS, positioning SABIC as a leader in sustainable material solutions.
Implants: high-performance plastics in medical technology
29/02/2024
High-performance plastics play a central role in technological advances – including in medical technology. In view of the high demands placed on materials in the medical context, Evonik's VESTAKEEP® PEEK offers a solution that combines high mechanical properties, temperature resistance and chemical resistance – and can improve patient care through innovations in the field of medical implants.
Heat resistant medical polycarbonate from Covestro
22/02/2024
Covestro, a leading developer of polymers and high-performance plastics, presents Apec® 2045, an advanced copolycarbonate. This material combines outstanding features such as biocompatibility, heat resistance, transparency and durability, making it the ideal solution for the manufacture of medical devices.
Bioplastics for medicine: sustainability and quality in harmony
17/02/2023
The healthcare field produces lots of medical plastic waste. The idea of designing medical products with sustainability in mind is certainly not new. However, medical-grade plastic materials must meet strict regulatory requirements, often prompting the aspect of sustainability to take a back seat.
Sustainable face masks: recyclable and climate-friendly
21/11/2022
With the development of the first 100 percent recyclable FFP2 mask, the Austrian Grabher Group is taking an important step towards sustainability. The sustainable FFP2 masks made of polypropylene are not only fully recyclable, but also cause significantly fewer CO2 emissions during their manufacture than conventional protective masks.
Smart textiles sense how their users are moving
22/08/2022
Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology develop a comfortable, form-fitting fabric that recognizes its wearer's activities, like walking, running, and jumping. Through the process of thermoforming, the researchers were able to significantly improve the precision of pressure sensors woven into multilayer knitted textiles, which they call 3DKnITS.
Clean room production of breast implants
14/09/2021
The Fraunhofer IPT has teamed up with BelloSeno GmbH to study biocompatible implants that are made using 3D printing. Kai Janning from the Fraunhofer IPT describes the conditions a medical device production facility must meet and reveals the latest successes of the researchers.
Protective polymers
21/12/2020
Restrictions have been imposed to prevent the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Wearing a mouth and nose mask is part of this, as is avoiding and reducing social contact and maintaining safe distances up to more far-reaching quarantine measures. Where it is difficult to keep a distance, plastics fulfil a key barrier and protective function.