Syensqo: Pioneering Healthcare Applications with Advanced Materials
Syensqo is a relatively new name in the market. Can you explain a little about who you are?
Syensqo was formed in January 2024, when 160-year-old global chemicals company, Solvay, spun-off its specialty business. Founded in 1863, Solvay’s original development was a process for the production of soda ash; over the years a diverse range of materials were brought to market to meet the demands of many industries. So while Syensqo is a new name in the market today, our materials, technologies and people have been providing specialty polymer products, such as Udel PSU and Radel PPSU to the healthcare sector for decades.
Our materials play in three main applications: Packaging with high-barrier PVDC used in blister packs; hemodialysis with polysulfones for blood filtration; and medical devices. Within medical devices, our markets include surgical instruments, implants, applications in biopharmaceutical processing, and many other applications within the medical device market where we leverage our specialty product portfolio – one of the largest in the industry. It is worth noting that we are the only company in the world producing sulfone-based implantable materials.
Why use specialty polymer materials in medical applications?
Materials used in healthcare applications must meet stringent standards to ensure both regulatory compliance and high performance in demanding medical environments. ISO 10993 is the primary standard for biocompatibility in medical applications, while USP Class VI is essential for materials used in biopharmaceutical processing.
In terms of performance, the demanding environments of the medical field necessitate materials with exceptional properties. Key among these are superior mechanical characteristics such as strength, stiffness, and durability. Medical applications often involve scenarios where materials must withstand high stress, impact, and other challenging conditions. Specialty polymers excel in these areas, as they occupy the high-performance zone of the polymer pyramid and are specifically designed to meet the needs of more extreme environments.
Sterilization capability is another critical consideration. Reusable devices require materials that can endure a higher number of sterilization cycles compared to single-use devices. However, compatibility with multiple sterilization methods is essential for both types, given the diverse techniques employed across the industry. For instance, Syensqo’s Ixef PARA is specifically engineered for single-use instrumentation and excels in gamma sterilization. In contrast, Radel PPSU, a polymer with over 30 years of use in the medical industry, is the gold standard for reusable instruments, maintaining its properties through 1,000 steam sterilization cycles.
Finally, chemical resistance is crucial for materials used in medical environments, which are often harsh and contain a variety of aggressive substances, including drug products, bodily fluids, and cleaning agents. Maintaining performance under these conditions is essential. Therefore, when selecting a polymer material, it is important to prioritize its chemical resistance to ensure durability and reliability in such demanding settings.
What are the most important design considerations when designing medical applications with specialty polymers?
In addition to their high performance properties already discussed, specialty polymer materials offer the unique capability to create more complex geometries than traditional metal materials. Combination and consolidation of parts is also possible with specialty polymers through the use of injection molding. While Syensqo does not design parts, we support designers of medical products through several supportive services that allow predictive analysis of the part during the design phase. Finite Element Analysis (FEA), Moldflow analysis, and Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) simulations help predict the behavior of a new part and allow device designers to realize more efficient solutions.
Why is the use of plastic increasing in the medical sector, often replacing metal in traditional applications?
The overall market demand for plastics suitable for medical applications is expected to exceed $28 billion in the coming years. Specialty polymers offer a unique value proposition in medical applications for a few reasons. First, specialty polymers have excellent strength, stiffness and thermal stability, similar to metal, but are much lighter in weight than metal devices, in some cases up to 50%. Lighter weight devices offer improved ergonomics and ease-of-use for medical professionals.
Another beneficial feature of polymer materials is that they may be either transparent or colored. These features offer quick identification and visual management in medical settings, increasing efficiency and helping to reduce errors.
Finally, polymers offer a range of processing capabilities from machining of stock shapes to injection molding. A frequent mis-conception is that high-strength, high performance polymer parts cannot be achieved through injection molding. In fact, the ease and efficiency of injection molding specialty polymer materials allows manufacturers to more cost-effectively scale their part production, compared with similar metal designs. Injection molding of specialty polymers results in excellent surface quality directly from the molding operation, eliminating the high cost and time of polishing and assembling a similar machined metal component.
Natalia Widjojo
Life Solutions Marketing Manager – APAC
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