The use of polymers in medical technology continues to grow rapidly and provides major business opportunities for companies who service the medical industry. Global polymer consumption now stands at some 2,750,000 tonnes with year on year increases of 3 being recorded for the nedical device sector.

Polymers for the Medical Industry 2001, the second event of its kind, brought together speakers representing the complete spectrum across the polymers to medical devices supply chain to identify and address the challenges facing our industry today.

List of Papers

Bioengineering Surfaces to Enhance Biocompatibility of Medical Polymers
Andrew W. Lloyd, Biomedical Materials Research Group, School of Pharmacy & Biomolecular Sciences, University of Brighton, UK
Paper unavailable at time of print

A Polyaryletherketone Biomaterial for use in Medical Implant Applications
Stuart Green and Jrg Schlegel, Victrex plc, UK and Victrex Europa GmbH, Germany

Physicochemical Requirements for Membrane Polymers in Medical Applications
Jorg Vienken, Fresinius Medical Care, Germany
Paper unavailable at time of print

A Review of 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulphonic Acid
Polymers and Hydrogels in Medical ApplicationsGeoffrey P. Marks and Alan C. Clark, Lubrizol Ltd., UK and The Lubrizol Corp., USA

Design and Functionalization of Macroporous Aliphatic Polyester Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering
V. Maquet ^1,4 , S. Gautier ^1,4 , M. Mazza ¹ , F. Schils ^2,3,4 , D. Martin ^2,3,4 , G. Moonen ^2,3 and R. Jrme ^1,4 , ¹ Center for Education and Research Macromolecules (CERM), University of Lige, Belgium; ²Neurosurgery, Dept., C.H.U., Belgium ³ Center of Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology, Belgium and ⁴ Interfacultary Center on Biomaterials, Belgium

An Industrial Perspective on Biomedical Materials and Device Design
Chris Ansell, Smith & Nephew Group Research Centre, UK

Precision Machining Using Femtosecond Lasers
John Girkin, Institute of Photonics, University of Strathlyde, UK

Laser Processing for Welding and Enhancing Adhesion of Polymer Surfaces
S.M. Tavakoli and I.A. Jones, TWI, UK

Partnership Approach to Cost-Effective Industrilisation of Drug Delivery Devices -Scaling-Up to Commercial Manufacture of a Novel Dry Powder Inhaler
¹ Iran Bateman, ² Colin Mitchell and ² Philip Braithwaite, ¹ Bespak plc and ² Innovata Biomed Ltd., UK

The Inflammatory Response to Cardiopulmonary Bypass: The Role of Plasticised PVC
Terry Goulay, Dept. of Cardiac Surgery - NHLI, Imperial College Medical School, UK
Paper unavailable at time of print

Citrate Plasticizers in Polymers and Drug Delivery Systems for the Medical Industry
Pierre Guiot and Sam Kennedy, Reilly Chemicals SA, Belgium

On the Interaction of Plastics, Plasticisers and Blood Cells
Pieter van de Meer, Blood Bank North Holland, The Netherlands
Paper unavailable at time of print

Controlled Delivery and Presentation of Polypeptides: Broadening the Design and Materials Options in Biomedical and Tissue Engineering
Allan G.A. Coombes, Aston Pharmacy School, UK

Medical Plastics for Oral Dosage Forms with Drug Controlled Release
A. Ainaoui and J.M. Vergnaud, Lab. Materials and Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Sciences, University of Saint Etienne, FranceHeparin Coating of Medical DevicesJohan Riesenfeld and Elisabeth Scholander, Carmeda AB, Sweden

Prevention of Bacterial Adhesion to Medical Polymers
Sophie Bobin-Dubreux, Biomatech SA, France

The Suitability of Parylene for Medical Applications
Ron Jamin, Specialty Coating Systems, C/O Speedline Technologies, USA

The Medical Device Directives - Moving Forward
John L. Webster, Medical Device Consultants International Limited, UK
Paper unavailable at time of print

Routine Chemical Characterisation of Modified Polymer Surfaces
John Eccles ⁽¹⁾ , Rachel Williams ⁽²⁾ , Tommi Markkula ⁽²⁾ and Stefanie Hird ⁽²⁾, ⁽¹⁾ Millbrook Instruments Limited, UK and ⁽²⁾ Department of Clincial Engineering, University of Liverpool, UK

Polymers and Biological Safety Testing: General and Specific Risk Assessment<