New Generation Silicones for Medical Devices

Silicones with bioengineering applications - e. g. , those used in the manufacture of blood pumps, contact lenses, adhesives, microelectrodes, articulation surfaces, and many extracorporeal devices - are judged in terms of their ability to meet a variety of strict criteria. Polymer technology matured in the 1960s, and most of the medical devices fabricated today arose from polymeric systems developed during this period. Silicon polymers can be readily modified by a variety of means; indeed, bioengineers now recognize that they adapt silicones to fulfill mechanical, electrical, gas-transmission, and optical criteria. This article illustrates how these modifications have been accomplished. After a general review of silicone chemistry, the author discusses filler-free silicone rubber, intepenetrating polymer networks, silicone urethanes, silicone polycarbonates and methacrylate silicones.