Lubricating coatings on medical devices can reduce the adverse effects of dynamic and static friction. The performance, accuracy and durability of components and products have been improved. Alfa Chemistry meets the growing demand for high-performance lubricating coating solutions by providing our extensive expertise in custom coating design, surface activation and process development.
Customized Lubricant Coating Service
The Alfa Chemistry coating is inspired by the capabilities of nature's water-based lubrication system. Imitating the functions used by snails, humans and plants, Alfa Chemistry lubricating coatings provide ultra-low friction surfaces for modern medical equipment, such as syringes used in intraocular lenses or catheters. Through a customized process for standard and non-standard substrate application systems, our goal is to achieve the highest coating performance, which is usually better than "off-the-shelf" available standard solutions. Due to the integration of proven feasibility study procedures and intelligent iterative design principles, a high project success rate and short development time can be achieved.
Learn About Our Lubrication Coating Technology
Wet Lubrication
As we all know, wet lubrication uses water-based liquids to reduce friction. Nature is the same in our joints, mouths, and eyes. Although lubricants can help reduce or control friction to some extent, they are usually not enough to achieve the desired long-lasting performance. For this reason, nature and engineers use coatings to improve the wet lubrication of surfaces.
Alfa Chemistry hydrophilic lubricating coatings are inspired by the mechanisms used in natural friction reduction systems, such as the eyes. By providing a hydrophilic lubricating coating on the surface, the surrounding aqueous medium is bound and retained during operation. In this way, it is possible to obtain the best product performance, such as:
- Low injection force during intraocular lens implantation
- Traceability and maneuverability of guidewire in minimally invasive vascular surgery
Dry Lubrication
Dry lubrication means that lubricants are not considered. Instead, anti-friction coatings or special surface treatments are usually used. Examples of dry friction reduction measures include:
- PTFE coating on vascular guide wire
- Siliconization of needles or DLC coating on engine parts
For alternatives to existing technologies, check out our anti-friction coating technology for dry lubrication.
PTFE-Based Lubrication
PTFE or Teflon is a prominent example of dry lubrication measures. A typical example of PTFE coating is kitchenware, but this type of coating is also used in medical devices. However, the recent F DA ban on Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) has caused problems with the adhesion of PTFE coatings, such as guide wires.
Alfa Chemistry aims to support companies in identifying solutions to adhesion problems and to provide alternative dry lubricating coatings.
Fig 1. The polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) matrix is filled with hollow SiO2 particles and lubricating oil (PAO6) to prepare a self-lubricating polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) composite material. (Li X. L, et al. 2020)
Silicone-Based Lubrication
Silica gel is a prominent "dry" lubricant and is actually used in both solid and liquid states. The term "solicitation" is often used to describe a layer of silicone that is deposited and fixed on a surface. The needle is usually coated with silicone to reduce friction during the injection.
However, in medical equipment, siliconization can easily contaminate products in clean rooms. In addition, in certain applications, such as injection into the eye, people are looking for alternatives to classic siliconized syringes and needles, because researchers found droplets of silicone oil in the patient's eyes after injection.
Alfa Chemistry aims to circumvent such problems through its lubricating coating technology.
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Reference
- Li X. L, et al. (2020). "Preparation and Tribological Properties of Solid-Liquid Synergetic Self-Lubricating PTFE/SiO2/PAO6 Composites." Composites Part B: Engineering. 196: 108133.
