Medical plastics continue to make breakthroughs in the healthcare market

Medical plastics continues to offer up an outstanding array of innovation. Lu Rahman looks at some the recent breakthroughs for the healthcare market

Fantastic plastic indeed. Sitting down to right an article on polymer innovation is no easy thing. Where to start? Narrowing it down to the medical sector does of course help but looking back at some of the recent materials news in the sector, it’s still a mammoth task choosing those that have made the biggest impression.

I’m sure I’m not alone in being excited by the news that scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard Medical School have developed an elastic film, a polysiloxane polymer, that can be applied to the skin to disguise wrinkles and bags under the eyes. Given that the global cosmetic surgery market is currently worth over $20 billion, according to Global Cosmetic Surgery & Services Market Analysis 2015-2019, the future for a product that could potentially non-surgically fix our never-ending quest for a youthful appearance, looks incredibly rosy indeed. 

It also seems that this polymer isn’t just a pretty face – researchers say it also has potential as a drug delivery mechanism as well as sun protection.

Daniel Anderson, an associate professor in MIT’s department of chemical engineering described the material: “It’s an invisible layer that can provide a barrier, provide cosmetic improvement, and potentially deliver a drug locally to the area that’s being treated. Those three things together could really make it ideal for use in humans.”

Sounds perfect. Given society’s current obsession with selfies and the growing importance of body image, this polymer could prove a huge hit once it achieves approval. Add to this its possible pharmaceutical applications and who knows how popular the uptake of this polymer may prove to be.

The significance of polymers in the medical sector is huge. Recently Northwestern University announced the development of a new hybrid polymer that, thanks to removable supramolecular compartments that contract and expand, it has the potential work like a muscle.

The hybrid polymer is made of two types of polymer – those formed with strong covalent bonds and those formed with weak non-covalent bonds  (supramolecular polymers). This gives the hybrid polymer both rigid and soft nano-sized compartments.

Potential applications of this polymer are varied. As well as artificial muscles, it is being claimed the material could also be used for drug delivery.

Andy Lovinger, a materials science program director at the National Science Foundation, which funded the polymer’s research, said: “This is a remarkable achievement in making polymers in a totally new way – simultaneously controlling both their chemistry and how their molecules come together.

“We’re just at the very start of this process, but further down the road it could potentially lead to materials with unique properties – such as disassembling and reassembling themselves – which could have a broad range of applications.”

While these examples highlight extreme innovation in medical polymers, many companies in the medical plastics field continue to develop materials that improve the use and manufacture of those medical devices that are used on a daily basis. Increasing numbers of the population rely upon implants, orthopaedic devices and wearable tech, so the functionality of the plastic used, its ability to both endure and perform, is paramount.

Cedric Perben, EMEA medical application development, Eastman Chemical Company recently outlined key considerations when choosing a high performance polymer. While an innovative material that disguises wrinkles clearly has a massive future, Perben underlined the need for materials to be able to withstand harsh drugs and disinfectants, to be able to withstand sterilisation, as well as allow substances inside devices to be seen. Materials such as Eastman’s Tritan have been developed to be used successfully in such applications.

According to Perben, “The material is resistant to a large spectrum of fluids used in hospitals, including aggressive cleaning disinfectants, powerful drugs including those used in oncology, drug carrier solvents and lipids. This resistance helps decrease the risk of the device cracking and discolouring, therefore increasing patient safety”.

Recently MPN reported that the medical polymers market is set to grow to £2 billion by 2021, according to a report by N-Tech Research.

It highlighted how implants currently consume about half the medical polymers produced and are expected to account for around £1.19bn in polymer sales by 2021; that medical polymer revenues are spread over a large range of polymers with PMMA as the biggest contributor, generating £530m ($745m) in 2021 and that the last ten years have also seen the rise of biodegradable polymers – according to N-Tech it is likely that entire prostheses soon will be developed from these materials.

Longer lives and increased research into illness leading to medical breakthroughs mean that the market for medical polymers is strong. We continue to learn of the demise of metal – add to this the growing development of wearable devices to treat conditions such as diabetes and it’s clear that device manufacture is not only secure but has limitless potential. As a growing number of businesses and universities pushing back the boundaries of research into design and material science, and innovation comes to the fore outlining the crucial role that polymers have and continue to play in the health and well being of us all.