Solvay and PDI Healthcare collaborate on disinfectant resistance testing of specialty polymers

Solvay has announced the results from PDI Healthcare’s compatibility study of Solvay’s polymers with healthcare disinfectants. In collaboration with Solvay, PDI Healthcare – a leader in infection prevention products and solutions – conducted performance and cosmetic tests on multiple Solvay high-performance specialty polymers. 

Several PDI disinfectants, including Sani-24, Sani-HyPerCide, Sani-Prime, and Super Sani-Cloth, were used to test Solvay’s Specialty Polymers. These materials are employed extensively in medical devices and equipment exposed to the repeated application of aggressive disinfectants used to help prevent the risk of hospital acquired infections (HAI). Detailed test results can be found on PDI Healthcare’s website.

93 per cent of the Solvay polymers showed a high retention of tensile strength and 100 per cent showed high retention of impact properties, which are key indicators of their resistance to environmental stress cracking (ESC), potentially resulting from chemical exposure. The cosmetic testing revealed no apparent surface damage or degradation to any of the Solvay materials tested. 

Jeff Hrivnak, Global Business Manager for Healthcare at Solvay Specialty Polymers, said: “Solvay is committed to helping customers keep pace with healthcare industry trends by providing a wide range of support, including supplying technical data on our materials to engineers and designers. The data from third-party testing … can help accelerate the design process, optimise device service life, and control costs by enabling more informed decisions about material selection.” 

The cosmetic testing was done on six Solvay polymers. During each test, the Solvay materials were exposed to widely used PDI Healthcare disinfectants, ranging across different types of antimicrobial actives. For cosmetic testing, sample materials that had been wiped with the disinfectants twelve times a day for two weeks were evaluated for changes to the surface by three PDI reviewers not involved with the testing. 

Solvay and PDI Healthcare are discussing these results at MD&M WEST 2020.

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