Material substitution isn't a contingency plan anymore. It's a competitive advantage. With regulations pushing processors away from certain substances like PFAS, and supply chain disruptions becoming increasingly common, having a strategy in place before a crisis hits is no longer optional.
On September 23, three experts will break down how to find, evaluate and qualify replacement materials and additives, build multi-source supplier schemes and keep production running smoothly when the unexpected happens.
Your ticket includes access to a full recording after the event airs live.
Ned Burnett, PhD
Business Strategy & Market Intelligence Manager, Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics
Replacing PTFE in Medical Devices: What the Industry Is Learning About Fluoropolymer Alternatives
Pressure to evaluate alternatives to PTFE and other fluoropolymers is increasing across the medical device industry, driven by PFAS-related regulatory activity, sustainability objectives, supply considerations, and customer requirements. Yet PTFE remains difficult to replace because its value rarely comes from a single property. Chemical resistance, low friction, thermal stability, low surface energy, biological history, and decades of manufacturing experience can all be embedded in what appears on a drawing as a simple material specification.
This presentation examines the current state of PTFE replacement in medical devices, from catheter liners and fluid-transfer tubing to filtration, process aids, and implantable applications. Emerging approaches including UHMWPE liners, nonfluorinated catheter-liner technologies, lubricious formulations and coatings, high-performance polymers, and multilayer constructions will be compared through the functions they can reproduce and the new limitations they introduce. Particular attention will be given to what “chemical compatibility” actually means in an application, why temperature, time, stress, sterilization, and fluid composition can change the answer, and why a successful alternative often requires matching the needs of the finished device rather than the full PTFE property envelope.
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