Application of Silicone Rubber Materials in Medical Devices

Medical Catheter Silicone Rubber Material

For medical products, materials with high purity and cleanliness are necessary. Therefore, peroxide-cured silicone rubber is increasingly being replaced by platinum-cured silicone rubber. The addition-cured silicone rubber materials must be processed in a clean environment and it is best to be separated from other organic materials during processing.

Previously, silicone rubber tubing used for medical devices was formed by continuous extrusion of a circular ring-shaped section of tube, which was then cut into certain lengths to suit specific devices. Although tolerances of inner diameter and wall thickness size can be controlled within a few thousandths of an inch, this continuous extrusion process still leads to certain deviations of the circular ring body of the tube. Recently, liquid injection molding silicone rubber has provided us with another way to produce high-quality and cost-effective silicone rubber products.

Antibacterial Organic Silicone Rubber Material

Currently, antibacterial additives used in materials include: silver ion compounds, chitosan, titanium dioxide, diphenyl ether biocides, coagulants, antibiotics, etc. Among these, silver ions are considered to have a relatively broad-spectrum antibacterial effect, including: gram-positive bacteria, gram-negative bacteria, fungi, etc. It has effective bactericidal activity at low concentrations, low toxicity to the human body, and long-lasting antibacterial effects. Silver ions have strong positive charges, so they have strong attraction to negatively charged groups in biological macromolecules. This attraction changes the molecular structure and causes the loss of the functional properties of the biological macromolecule in cells. This reaction occurs simultaneously on negatively charged groups in biological macromolecules, preventing normal cell operation, such as cell wall growth, membrane permeability, RNA synthesis and transport, protein replication, etc., thereby preventing the growth of bacteria/microorganisms. Antibacterial organic silicone rubber materials use silver ions as the main antibacterial agent, add silver ions with antibacterial ability to the polymer network of silicone rubber, and play the above-mentioned bactericidal effect when the material comes into contact with bacteria, thereby improving the safety of this silicone rubber material in medical applications.

Due to the frequent occurrence of hospital-acquired infections, medical devices with antibacterial properties have great potential for application value. The antibacterial medical silicone rubber series, which uses the antibacterial properties of silver ions, is added to the polymer network of silicone rubber, has good, efficient and long-lasting antibacterial ability, and maintains the physical, chemical and processing properties of silicone rubber, thereby providing a possibility for designing new types of antibacterial medical devices.

Medical Electrode Plate Silicone Rubber Material

Since the electrode plate is a component in contact with the human body, the rubber material must be soft and comfortable, physiologically inactive, non-toxic to the human body, non-irritating to the skin, and have good air permeability. During use, it must withstand multiple high temperature and high-pressure sterilizations with medical alcohol or potassium permanganate solution without affecting its performance. Medical-grade silicone rubber is highly appropriate as a substrate that meets these requirements. Making conductive silicone rubber not only maintains the characteristics of silicone rubber itself but also has conductivity. In the medical equipment and electronic appliance fields, it is the most widely used conductive rubber and the first choice for conductive rubber substrates. The most basic component materials of medical electrode plates are silicone rubber substrates that meet medical requirements and actual use requirements, and conductive fillers that give them good conductivity. If supplemented with other auxiliary components, their performance can be further improved.