Plasma Solutions for Life Sciences and Medical Device Manufacturing

The medical device industry is highly regulated which demands reliable and reproducible components and manufacturing processing to satisfy said regulators.  Regulated devices range from a simple bandage to the most complex implantable heart defibrillator.  Developing these devices requires rigorous testing and validation of the materials and processes used to manufacture them.  Challenges abound due to issues with bio-compatibility, material mismatch, implant duration, ability to withstand sterilization, wettability, lubricity, and so on.  Plasma processes address many of these challenges while enabling more reliable and robust devices.  Plasma has been shown to enhance surface wettability, remove surface contamination, improve bondability and maintain the bulk properties of the material treated. 

Medical diagnostics are highly dependent on reliable chemical analytic techniques where fluids are contacted with reagents in polymer containers such as microtiter plates or plated used in gene sequencing systems or chemiluminescence detection tools.  The reliability of such techniques are dependent upon the repeatable wetting of the containers by the fluids and/or reagents.  Plasma processing is an excellent choice for increasing the surface energy of polymers enabling more wettable surfaces.

Because plasma treatment will enhance the surface energy of samples treated it is chosen prior to adhesive bonding, lubricious coating application, polymer coating application, device printing, etc.  Plasma is also useful for depositing polymer films via plasma assisted polymerization.  Plasma polymer films can be used to enhance adhesion of subsequent bonding steps and in certain cases forms an excellent tack reduction film when deposited on rubber compounds.  Plasma is also utilized to remove surface contaminants that can interfere with subsequent bonding steps.

Specific application examples will be presented showing the many uses and benefits of plasma processing for medical devices.