Lubricious Coatings from Bayer MaterialScience LLC Enable Improved Performance of Medical Devices

MATERIALS: Bayer MaterialScience LLC introduced Baymedix™ CL 100, a lubricious surface treatment for medical devices which gives a durable coating with an especially low coefficient of wet friction. The exceptional lubricity of this new product complements Bayer MaterialScience LLC’s existing portfolio of hemocompatible polyurethane-based hydrophilic coatings.

Lubricious coatings have found widespread use on a variety of medical devices where clinicians need to reduce the amount of friction encountered between the device and a patient’s tissue. For instance, they give surgeons better handling and maneuverability when performing procedures like cardiovascular stenting.

Baymedix™ ^{CL 100 can be adapted to many substrates but is especially suitable for application to elastomeric materials common in catheters, such as polyether-block amide (Pebax®), thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), and nylon. Impressively low coefficients of wet friction, 0.02-0.03, have been achieved on several prototype devices.}

Distinct from other lubricious and hydrophilic coatings, Baymedix^™ CL 100 is directly grafted onto the surface of the medical device rather than applied as a separate coating. As a result, the coating is covalently attached to the substrate, giving superb adhesion and durability. This also means an especially thin coating of no more than a few microns.

The activation and surface modification processes take place in aqueous conditions, without solvents that can complicate manufacture. The process is scalable and suitable for various medical devices, since the raw materials are affordable and no special equipment is needed to cure the coatings.

Especially unique about Baymedix™ CL 100 is the ability for the product to be applied to the lumens, or inside surface, of catheters. Lumen coatings are useful where one catheter or device needs to be passed through another.

-Edited by Kelsey Anderson