Coated needles [Photo courtesy of Surface Solutions Group]
‘Forever chemical’ replacements are on the way thanks to sustainable coating research and collaboration.By George Osterhout, Surface Solutions Group
Fluoropolymers are getting a bad name.
For more than a decade, perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) used to manufacture polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) coatings for the medical device industry have been highly scrutinized by regulatory agencies including the EPA and the EU Medical Device Regulation (MDR).
In 2010, the EPA recommended the elimination of PFOA in all PTFE coatings by 2015, including those used for medical devices. PTFE coatings are used for guidewires, mandrels, hypotubes, coil wires and needles. Since then, PTFE manufacturing companies have turned to short-chain perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) as an alternati…