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Developing advanced catheters that improve patient outcomes

Polyether Block Amide (PEBA), widely used in catheters poses reliability issues in demanding catheter applications. The material absorbs moisture levels that may cause tubing to change dimensions or lose stiffness – making it more difficult to predict how final parts will perform in clinical environments. Manufacturing with PEBA also produces gel defects that create stress risers in thin-walled components and potential points of failure.

Selecting PEBA can also lead to quality issues during production. Catheter tubing made of the material tends to show high variation in extrusion behavior, which yields high scrap rates. To protect and grow your business, you need to select a high-performance material that minimizes any risk to patients, enables you to reduce costs, and is well-suited to catheter production processes.  

Decrease material related recalls by making differentiated products with Arnitel® Care

DSM’s Arnitel® Care is specially engineered for manufacturing soft, durable medical devices that excel in high moisture and high-temperature conditions. The material combines high flexibility with the strength of rubber, due to its unique hard polyester and soft amorphous link structure. Key benefits for catheter manufacturers include:

  • Compliance with FDA food contact, USP Class VI and ISO 10993-5/10 standards
  • Stiffness tunable between 20 and 1000MPa for catheters with strict performance needs
  • Extremely predictable extrusion behavior, ensuring high repeatability and reducing scrap
  • Best-in-class snap back memory to prevent part deformation
  • Outstanding thermal stability during assembly and in use
  • Eliminates the risk of gel forming at bonding points
  • High to low durometer grades that are easily welded and glued together

Explore DSM grades for catheters

Arnitel® Care L140E

Arnitel® is a family of high-performance copolyester-based thermoplastic elastomers (TPC) offering a unique combination of flexibility, chemical resistance and high-temperature performance.

Its unique chemistry consists of hard and soft segments which offer a great degree of design flexibility. This includes proven performance in breathable monolithic films, kink-resistant tubing, soft touch applications, and a variety of other innovative solutions for the medical industry.

Because of DSM’s global commitment to manufacturing quality, medical industry leaders trust Arnitel® when material quality and purity is essential for demanding high-precision components.

  • 40 Shore D
  • Medium Viscosity
  • Medical grade
DSM Plasticsfinder
Download data sheet (155KB)

Arnitel® Care L155E

Arnitel® is a family of high-performance copolyester-based thermoplastic elastomers (TPC) offering a unique combination of flexibility, chemical resistance and high-temperature performance.

Its unique chemistry consists of hard and soft segments which offer a great degree of design flexibility. This includes proven performance in breathable monolithic films, kink-resistant tubing, soft touch applications, and a variety of other innovative solutions for the medical industry.

Because of DSM’s global commitment to manufacturing quality, medical industry leaders trust Arnitel® when material quality and purity is essential for demanding high-precision components.

  • 55 Shore D
  • Medium Viscosity
  • Medical grade
DSM Plasticsfinder
Download data sheet (155KB)

Arnitel® Care L225E

Arnitel® is a family of high-performance copolyester-based thermoplastic elastomers (TPC) offering a unique combination of flexibility, chemical resistance and high-temperature performance.

Its unique chemistry consists of hard and soft segments which offer a great degree of design flexibility. This includes proven performance in breathable monolithic films, kink-resistant tubing, soft touch applications, and a variety of other innovative solutions for the medical industry.

Because of DSM’s global commitment to manufacturing quality, medical industry leaders trust Arnitel® when material quality and purity is essential for demanding high-precision components.

  • 25 Shore D
  • Low Viscosity
  • Medical grade
DSM Plasticsfinder
Download data sheet (155KB)

Arnitel® Care L345A

Arnitel® is a family of high-performance copolyester-based thermoplastic elastomers (TPC) offering a unique combination of flexibility, chemical resistance and high-temperature performance.

Its unique chemistry consists of hard and soft segments which offer a great degree of design flexibility. This includes proven performance in breathable monolithic films, kink-resistant tubing, soft touch applications, and a variety of other innovative solutions for the medical industry.

Because of DSM’s global commitment to manufacturing quality, medical industry leaders trust Arnitel® when material quality and purity is essential for demanding high-precision components.

  • 45 Shore D
  • Medium Viscosity
  • Highly Breathable
  • Medical grade
DSM Plasticsfinder
Download data sheet (154KB)

Akulon® Care K1G6

30% Glass Reinforced

Akulon® is our family of high performance polyamide 6 and polyamide 66 materials, used by customers across the world in applications ranging from automotive, electronics & electrical, to furniture and packaging.

We offer Akulon® grades for injection molding, blow molding and extrusion (including barrier film, stock shapes, convoluted tubes, and mono and multi filament).

In molded parts the material offers an excellent balance of easy design and processing with outstanding mechanical properties over a wide temperature range and in diverse conditions. Meanwhile for extrusion the strength, resilience and easy processing of Akulon® sets the market standards.

  • Medical grade
DSM Plasticsfinder
Download data sheet (154KB)

Contact us for more information

Direct and easy access to our broad portfolio of high-performance plastics: request a quote or order a sample. You can also simply ask our catheters experts.

Request a quote
Order a sample
Contact catheter experts

Gain more catheters innovation insights

  • Developing advanced catheters that improve patient outcomes

    Cardiovascular catheters are needed to perform diagnostic testing and treat complex medical conditions. Common material solutions have reliability issues – prompting more medical equipment suppliers to leverage high-strength, thermoplastic elastomers (TPE). Yet, this material often leads to variations in extrusion behavior and problems during secondary assembly processes. DSM’s Arnitel® Care is ideal for producing safe and reliable catheters that are optimized for high-stress clinical environments and reduce operating costs for manufacturers.

    Read blog

  • Delivering medical devices trusted by patients and healthcare professionals

    High demand for medical devices and drug delivery equipment is creating opportunities for manufacturers. Yet approximately 30-40% of equipment recalls can be traced back to improper material selection. Protecting your reputation requires working with a material partner prepared to help you accurately assess how final parts perform in clinical settings and overcome supply chain issues. We at DSM Engineering Materials offer a proven material solutions portfolio created to help you develop a broad range of best-in-class medical devices.

    READ BLOG

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