TOWARD A SAFER FUTURE: CHEMICAL-FREE ANTIBACTERIAL PLASTICS
CLAYENS Healthcare, a leading player in plastic solutions for healthcare, has achieved a major advance through its surface functionalization technology.
This method reproduces on plastic parts during injection the patterns created on the mold at micro/nanometric scale, thereby giving antibacterial properties to plastic surfaces without chemical additives. This innovation opens promising prospects not only in the medical field, but also in the food industry and other industrial sectors.
Initially developed and validated for hydrophilic, hydrophobic, and anti-friction applications, this technology has now demonstrated effectiveness in limiting biofilm formation and reducing bacterial adhesion (bacteriostatic effect), while aiming to eliminate bacteria (bactericidal effect). By removing the need for chemical coatings or additives, it integrates seamlessly with existing healthcare applications, potentially avoiding changes to materials or validation processes, including possibly avoiding repeat biocompatibility testing.
"This technology offers unique opportunities to improve the safety and performance of plastic devices in various environments," says Matthieu BESSE, Healthcare R&D Manager at CLAYENS. "It enables continuous improvement of medical devices or pharmaceutical packaging without significantly changing regulatory dossiers."
Research has highlighted the essential role of the texture/material/bacteria trio in achieving optimal antibacterial performance. Tests conducted in-house at CLAYENS and with customers showed that micro and nano texture effectiveness depends strongly on the materials used. For example, textures effective for polyethylene (PE) differ from those optimal for polypropylene (PP), polyamide (PA), or other injectable materials such as crystal PS or PEEK. This underlines the importance of tailoring solutions to each polymer for the best possible results.
CLAYENS Healthcare has adopted an innovative experimental approach, as modeling behavior of the texture/material/bacteria combination remains complex. In tests compliant with ISO 22196:2011, samples of various materials were exposed to representative bacteria such as Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (golden staph). Results confirmed that effectiveness depends strongly on interactions between texture and material.
For example, with the polypropylene/Escherichia coli combination, a specific texture achieved a logarithmic reduction (Rlog) greater than 2, corresponding to elimination of more than 99% of bacteria compared with a non-textured surface. Similarly, an adapted texture applied to the polypropylene/Staphylococcus aureus pair also reached an Rlog greater than 2, demonstrating comparable bacterial reduction. Ongoing trials aim to improve these results further, particularly by limiting biofilm formation and progressing toward greater bacterial destruction.
By contrast, the same texture applied to other materials did not produce comparable results. These observations highlight the need for precise optimization for each polymer type to maximize bacteriostatic and, ultimately, bactericidal effects.
"Our teams continue to explore innovative solutions to address our customers' specific challenges," adds Pauline SPARD, R&D Engineer. "We have achieved advanced bacteriostatic properties by limiting biofilm formation and development, and we are now working on bactericidal surfaces."
À propos de CLAYENS :
CLAYENS Healthcare, the Healthcare division of the CLAYENS Group, supports industrial health players (medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and diagnostics) in developing, industrializing, and manufacturing custom medical devices and plastic components in compliance with international regulatory standards.
CLAYENS Healthcare offers a full service, from R&D to production, including industrialization, qualification, validation, and regulatory support.
Present in 9 countries, the CLAYENS Group has nearly 5,000 employees and 32 manufacturing sites. The Group's 8 cleanrooms are located in France (ISO7), the United States (ISO8), and Mexico (ISO7).
Pour en savoir plus : https://www.clayens.com/healthcare.
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