- 15% greater flexural modulus than PEEK
- Superior gas barrier properties compared to EVOH
- Foster partners with Mitsubishi Gas Chemical
Foster Polymer Distribution, a business unit of Foster Corporation specializing in the distribution of medical polymers and additives, has partnered with Mitsubishi Gas Chemical to distribute MX-Nylon to the North American medical market. Mitsubishi’s MX-Nylon, a meta-xylene diamine polyamide, offers very good mechanical and barrier properties for molded components and devices, and medical packaging applications.
15% higher flexural modulus than PEEK
Polymer components are frequently preferred over metal in medical equipment since they do not interfere with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computerized axial tomography (CAT), fluoroscopy and x-ray imaging. Mitsubishi’s MX-Nylon is a high strength metal replacement material with a flexural modulus 50% greater than traditional polyamide 6/6 and 15% greater than polyetheretherketone (PEEK). At less than 25% the price of PEEK, MX-Nylon is an economical option for components that must be radiolucent and high strength.
Foster Polymer Distribution has been appointed the distributor of Mitsubishi Gas Chemical’s MX-Nylon to the North American medical market.
Superior gas barrier properties compared to EVOH
MX-Nylon also offers superior gas barrier properties against oxygen and carbon dioxide compared to all commercially available polyamides, as well as ethylene-vinyl alcohol (EVOH) copolymers, acrylonitrile (PAN) copolymers, and polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC) copolymers. Very good heat stability and a wide processing window, allows this polyamide to be co-extruded or co-injection molded with other polymers, such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polypropylene (PP) or polyethylene (PE) for multi-layer medical packaging or containment systems that require low oxygen permeation. MX-Nylon is also suitable for applications that must withstand sterilization by gamma, e-beam, ethylene oxide and retort methods.