The plus and the minus of plastic

Plastic has taken a bit of a beating recently. And maybe not without reason. The news that water supplies across the globe have found to have been contaminated with small amounts of the substance have been alarming to say the least.

Plastic has become a vital material for the manufacture of so many of the items we take for granted. From toys to bottles to medical devices, it is a substance of choice and contributes to a host of products that benefit from its material properties. However, of course that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be responsible – as manufacturers or consumers – in the way we dispose of it or the way we encourage other to dispose of it.

While medical plastics hasn’t been singled out in the study by Orb Media that found plastic fibres in not only water but also beer, sugar and honey, of course the sector runs the risk of being tarred with the same brush when the national press gets hold of this type of story.

I agree that we need to keep plastic out of the water supply as much as possible. But we also need to look carefully at the amazing things polymers can do and are doing. At the time of writing we‘ve just had news of how scientists are using biodegradable polymers to deliver multiple vaccines in one jab. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology developed containers that are hollow, injectable and made of polymer microparticles. The containers can be filled with a drug or vaccine and are designed to break down at various points in time to release the contained fluid.

The microparticles are made of a biocompatible, FDA approved polymer that are filled with a drug or a vaccine and then sealed with a lid. The microparticles, which resemble miniature coffee cups, are then heated slightly so that the cups and the lid fuse together to seal the drug inside. This breakthrough could have huge repercussions if  further development takes place.

Just a few months back we ran the story about the ‘artificial womb’ device that offers significant potential for keeping premature babies alive. The plastic bag-like device is filled with amniotic fluid that acts as an ‘artificial womb’ has been tested successfully in a study using unborn lambs.

The womb-like environment designed by paediatric researchers could transform care for extremely premature babies, by mimicking the prenatal fluid-filled environment to give the tiniest newborns a precious few weeks to develop their lungs and other organs.

“Our system could prevent the severe morbidity suffered by extremely premature infants by potentially offering a medical technology that does not currently exist,” said study leader Alan Flake, a foetal surgeon and director of the Center for Fetal Research in the Center for Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP).

It’s pretty amazing stuff. While we need to recognise the bad press plastic has received and act on it positively and proactively, let’s also remember the great things going on that benefit many of us on a global level.