Antimicrobial Technologies in Design and Manufacturing of Medical Devices, Including Nanoparticles Addendum

Antimicrobials have been successfully utilized in many items from consumer products to medical devices. This new technology needs to coexist with sterilization processes in the medical device field, with the hope of eliminating sterilization in the future. Awareness for preventing healthcare-acquired infections, associated deaths, and rising related costs is much higher than in the past due to recent government mandates. It is challenging for medical device manufacturers to obtain 510(k) approvals from the U.S. FDA. However, strides are being made, and more antimicrobial-reinforced medical devices are becoming available as other entities such as ASTM, ISO, JIS, and USP become involved in testing of materials.

This presentation reviews the current state and the future of antimicrobial technologies, including nanoparticle-based and ion-based. The materials and processes as well as design and manufacturing of medical devices are covered, along with an overview of FDA approval processes and sterilization methods.

Presented at: NanoManufacturing Conference & Exhibits, Society of Manufacturing Engineers, March 28-29, 2012, Boston, MA.