Types of coating technologies in medical applications

At Avery Dennison Medical we design, develop, and manufacture adhesive-coated materials, such as acrylics, synthetic rubbers, hydrocolloids, TASA™ and silicone gels. These adhesives are used to create a wide array of rollstock using a variety of different substrates including films, foams, non-wovens, fabrics, and foils and are also available as transfer adhesives.  

 

Our innovative adhesive coating technologies

Our adhesive coating technologies (hot melt, solvent, and emulsion) allow us to engineer acrylic and rubber-based adhesives that offer a wide range of permanent and removable functionalities for surgical, ostomy, wearable and wound care applications. Within each range, we work with chemical compositions that are meticulously engineered to meet our partners’ performance requirements.

 
  • Acrylic adhesives are skin-friendly, with low to medium tack and adhesion, and have the ability to meet a multitude of challenges associated with the human skin. They are the most commonly used adhesives for skin contact applications.  
  • Synthetic rubbers offer higher tack and adhesion levels when bonding to the skin or low surface energy substrates. These adhesives are primarily used for permanently or semi-permanently bonding of low surface energy materials.

  • Hydrocolloids are rubber-based adhesives with absorbing characteristics, primarily used in wound care and ostomy applications, but they can also be used in wearable use cases. When these pressure-sensitive adhesives encounter wound exudate, the hydrocolloid components are activated and start to absorb the excess, creating a wound environment that is conducive to healing. In wearable applications, hydrocolloids are used for the low initial tack and potential extended wear time.

  • Thin Absorbent Skin Adhesive or TASA™ is a novel material developed by our adhesive experts: by combining an acrylic adhesive with hydrocolloid components we created a thin, transparent, absorbing acrylic adhesive that can be used for advanced wound care applications. 

  • The silicone gel adhesives we develop and customize are gentle and easily removable, offering excellent solutions for sensitive skin.

  • Finally, we continuously innovate new adhesive technology formulations, for instance by developing adhesives with additives such as glycerine to manage dry skin or vitamin E to moisturize compromised skin.

In response to our customers’ needs, we have the capabilities to develop a new adhesive formulation tailored to meet specific user requirements.

 

Material considerations during development

Avery Dennison Medical supplies a large variety of single and double-coated adhesive products. Important factors to consider when selecting the right adhesive for a medical device include skin type, activity levels, patient profile, as well as placement on the body.

We also develop more complex multi-part adhesive solutions for wearable medical device applications, that are often composed of a skin adhesive, a tie-layer, and an overlay tape. Each of these adhesive layers within a device requires different adhesive materials with varying characteristics in terms of initial tack, adhesion, removability, and breathability. 

One of our major strengths is that we support customization and new product development by collaborating closely with our customers in the design, development, and commercialization of their medical products. Avery Dennison Medical’s experts have decades of experience in medical product R&D and in assisting OEMs, converters, and start-up companies with material considerations by offering guidance throughout the entire design and development process of medical solutions. 

FDA regulations and ISO Standards for adhesive coating

Our manufacturing facilities are compliant with ISO 13485 or ISO 9001 regulations.  

Avery Dennison Medical works in accordance with the EU Medical Device Regulation (MDR) and FDA guidance and offers tailored regulatory support for MDD, MDR, FDA and other (inter)nationally recognized standards for medical devices (Class I, IIa and IIb). 

Moreover, our regulatory experts assist customers with data to support their product registrations. These material safety data sheets, and biocompatibility or REACH certificates qualifying our rolled goods and components may serve as an input for FDA and MDR compliance applications for our customers’ finished products.

 

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