COMPAMED 2011: WACKER Introduces New Biocompatible Silicone Adhesive for Medical Applications

Munich, ---

At COMPAMED 2011, the Munich-based chemical firm WACKER is presenting a new biocompatible silicone adhesive it has recently developed for medical applications. Marketed under the brand name SILPURAN® 4200, this condensation-curing silicone rubber formulation is an easy-to-process, single-component adhesive with excellent adhesion properties. Upon vulcanization, SILPURAN® 4200 forms a silicone elastomer with outstanding mechanical strength, making it ideal for permanently bonding components of medical devices. COMPAMED will be held in Düsseldorf, Germany, from November 16 to 18, 2011.

The new adhesive represents an expansion of the chemical company’s existing line of silicone products designed for use in the medical industry. SILPURAN® 4200 is formulated with a new catalyst that does not use organotin compounds. This makes this new silicone adhesive particularly safe to use from a health standpoint. Like all products in the SILPURAN® series, the new adhesive has also been certified as biocompatible in accordance with selected ISO 10993-1 and USP Class VI tests.

While SILPURAN® 4200 is particularly suitable for bonding vulcanized silicone parts, it can also be used to bond textile surfaces onto silicone. Molded parts made from these materials can be readily bonded without the need for advance priming. The vulcanized silicone adhesive layer can also support substantial mechanical loads. The vulcanizate shows medium hardness and elongation, it has good tensile strength and tear resistance. The elastic adhesive layer ensures a stable bond even when the bonded components move against each other. SILPURAN® 4200 is therefore not only suitable for permanently bonding device components, it is also an especially good choice for highly elastic bonds between the molded silicone parts and textiles used in manufacturing prosthetic and orthotic devices.

A pasty, self-leveling compound that shows shear thinning behavior, the new silicone adhesive can be applied manually or automatically and cured by exposure to air moisture. A skin forms in less than 10 minutes.


SILPURAN® – Silicone Products for Medical Applications

By taking special steps and implementing its new WACKER CLEAN OPERATIONS production standard, WACKER ensures that SILPURAN® silicones will continue to meet the high standards and ever-rising safety demands of the medical industry. All SILPURAN® silicone rubbers are dispensed or packaged in cleanrooms to prevent contamination by airborne particulates. Visual inspections, 50 µm filtration and antistatic, heat-sealed liners for solid silicone rubber grades ensure optimum purity.

SILPURAN® silicones contain no organic plasticizers, are resistant to radiation, can be readily sterilized and are certified for biocompatibility in accordance with selected ISO 10993 and USP (United States Pharmacopeia) Class VI tests. For ISO 10993 evaluation, materials are assessed for cytotoxicity, pyrogenicity and sensitization. USP Class VI evaluation encompasses tests for acute systemic and/or intracutaneous toxicity and short-term implantation.

Visit WACKER at COMPAMED 2011 in hall 8b, booth H33.