Materials provider showcasing TPEs at Pharmapack and MD&M West

Materials solutions provider Trinseo will introduce its portfolio of thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) for medical devices at MD&M West and Pharmapack, along with its rigid plastics offering.

Trinseo has been part of the medical devices market for nearly three decades. The expanded portfolio enhances Trinseo’s offering with soft touch materials and overlays that are often needed with hard plastics.

TPEs can serve as a vinyl substitute. With their elastomeric composition, TPEs can allow better handling of medical devices and potentially increase performance, functionality, usability, and aesthetics, while helping to improve patient care and contribute to patient safety.

Trinseo supports medical devices customers with material solutions for single and multiple use devices, equipment housings, drug delivery systems, and medical wearables. The company adheres to current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) and holds an ISO 13485 certification.

Aldo Zanetti, business unit manager TPE Solutions – medical & packaging for Trinseo, said: “We've brought together a very high-quality portfolio of rigid plastics with TPEs that have been specifically formulated for the medical devices sector. This move helps us meet the needs of medical customers, particularly as the industry addresses trends in healthcare that require medical devices and equipment that are more patient friendly and service provider friendly.”

Trinseo offers two styrenic block copolymers (TPSs) to the medical devices industry under the brands MEGOL and RAPLAN. Materials are biocompatibility tested and available with full biocompatibility (MED) and limited testing approved for skin contact (SK).

Trinseo’s rigid plastics for medical devices include:

• CALIBRE Polycarbonate (PC) – for fluid and drug delivery via syringes, stopcocks and luers.

• CALIBRE (Glass-filled) PC – GF – for handles and housings of surgical devices.

• EMERGE PC/ABS and PC/PET – for housings and covers of monitoring devices.

• MAGNUM ABS – for portable device housings i.e. diabetes management equipment, glucose meters, pumps and insulin pens.

MD&M West runs from 5-7 February in Anaheim, California.

Pharmapack runs from 6-7 February in Paris.