New thermoplastic material offers potential for surgical procedures

Researchers at the University of Birmingham have developed a new thermoplastic biomaterial.

As the material is a type of nylon, its properties make it ideal for medical device applications such as bone replacements, where the additional flexibility within the implant material is desirable for minimally invasive surgical techniques.

Senior researcher, Professor Andrew Dove, claims the material offers, “a cost-effective, versatile and robust alternative in the medical device marketplace.”

Josh Worch, the postdoctoral researcher who led the work, added: “For many plastics, including nylon, the toughness is often dependent on their semi-crystalline structure, but this also makes them harder to shape and mould. However, our new plastic is as tough as nylon, but without being crystalline so it is much easier to manipulate. We believe this is only possible due to the way we have used stereochemistry to control our design.”

The plastic material is now patented, and the research team are exploring ways to fine tune the material and its properties before looking for a commercial partner.

The research has been published in the scientific journal, Nature Communications.