5 Materials to Consider for Your Next Medical Device: Polycarbonates

Polycarbonates 

“Polycarbonate is the foremost enginerring polymer out there,” Czuba says. “It’s the longest-used engineering polymer for the medical device industry."
 

Benefits: Polycarbonate is clear, inert, can withstand high temperatures, and molds and extrudes easily. The material can also be colored and is low cost compared with other medical materials.

New grades are more resistant to solvents used to clean medical devices than they have been in the past, Czuba says.
 

Potential Drawbacks: Czuba says polycarbonates have gotten a bad wrap in recent years because they contain bisphenol-A (BPA), even though FDA has found safe for use in medical devices and food and beverage products.

“Some companies have been forced to label their products to say this product may contain BPA, and anytime you put a warning on the product, it’s a red flag for users.”
 

Applicatons: Housings, connectors, catheter hubs—polycarbonates are ubiquitous in the medical device industry.