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The use of plastic materials in the medical field is constantly increasing and is estimated to reach 4 billion dollar in two years (only in the US). The need to reduce healthcare cost and use of a disposable medical supplies are important factors generating a higher demand of medical plastics. New materials, with improved properties are developed in order to satisfy the requirements of infection control standards. New studies and tests are conducted to determine the biological reactivity of polymeric materials. Currently, plastics are graded on a scale of Class I to Class VI, which is done by injecting extracts of the test material intracutaneously into rabbits and mice. Plastics not requiring implantation testing are graded Class I, II, III, or V and those plastics requiring implantation testing are graded Class IV or VI. Guidance for the use of plastics in the manufacture of medical devices not being provided in the past, the medical device industry has primarily used Class VI plastics. The overuse of Class VI plastics is due to the assumption that its advanced level of testing the legal and biological risks are reduced. This leads to manufacturers avoiding the use of a number of appropriate and preferable plastics or polymers. Packaging of medical products, tubes and pharmaceutical closures are also applications for plastic materials. The high impact and chemical resistance as well as excellent resistance to steam exposure of some materials (like polyphenylsulfone) is making them a strong choice for products that need to be sterilized.
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