Freudenberg Performance Materials will present its medical product portfolio at the Compamed trade fair, November 16-19. In addition to new solutions made from antimicrobial PU foam and chitosan nonwovens, the company will be showcasing nonwovens with hydro-gelling fibers for advanced wound care, high-performance backing materials for wound care and transdermal applications, as well as activated carbon filters for ostomy applications.
 
In January this year, Freudenberg Performance Materials took over the U.K. company Polymer Health Technology (PHT), a leading specialist in hydrophilic polyurethane foams for advanced wound care. The foam systems absorb wound exudate and create an ideal environment for wound healing. They protect the wound from drying out and ensure the free exchange of gases and water vapor, accelerating the wound-healing process.
 
“In recent months, working closely with our customers, we have greatly intensified the research and development of foam-based solutions. Our first successes include customized, antimicrobial polyurethane foam systems for medium to strong extruded wounds such as decubitus and second degree burns,” explains Marcus Simon, manager market segment medical at Freudenberg Performance Materials. The antimicrobial effect contributes to reducing the bacterial load in infected wounds. It also acts as a barrier in wounds with high and renewed risk of infection. In the future, the company will also offer standardized solutions for a wide range of applications.
 
Another Freudenberg Performance Materials innovation is a standardized solution made from 100% chitosan fibers for use as a bacteriostatic wound pad material. Derived from the shells of shellfish, the chitosan biopolymer promotes healing and rapidly stops bleeding. This enables a significant reduction in treatment time and costs, especially in the treatment of chronic wounds.
 
 
Another innovation, Freudenberg’s “scaffolene” technology, enables the production of nonwoven fabrics from bioresorbable polymers. Scaffolene nonwovens are extremely versatile in their characteristics and applications. They are flexible and tear-resistant in its dry state and stable even when wet, retaining its structure and avoiding clumping. During operations, it can be easily and securely positioned in the right place in the body. The body eventually breaks the fabric down of its own accord, rendering a further treatment to remove the dressing unnecessary. Scaffolene offers another advantage—during manufacture, antiseptic agents, enzymes or growth hormones can be incorporated directly into the nonwoven fabric. Depending on the raw material and additive used, scaffolene enables active agents to be positioned and delivered precisely where they are needed in the body, promoting healing in chronic and acute wounds or helping to rebuild bones after a fracture.
 
Working together with customers – leading international medical and pharmaceutical companies – as well as with partners from the worlds of science and research, Freudenberg has initiated numerous product developments. One of these is the combination of regenerative scaffolene wound matrix and antiseptic active ingredient. This project will be presented at Compamed to an audience of medical professionals by Freudenberg development partner Professor Birkenmeier of the University of Leipzig. The cause of hard-to-heal chronic wounds is often persistent colonization with bacteria that embed themselves in so-called “biofilms.” The special three-dimensional matrix is particularly suitable for preventing the continuous regeneration of biofilms in chronically infected wounds and, at the same time, also forms the substrate for accelerated wound healing.
 
In addition to its use in wound healing, scaffolene technology opens up new therapeutic possibilities within other medical fields, including bio-surgery or regenerative medicine.
 
Furthermore, high-performance activated carbon filters from Freudenberg Performance Materials are used as integrated activated carbon filters in ostomy bags, targeted at the adsorption of unpleasant odors. Freudenberg Performance Materials adapts them to the individual requirements and specifications of its customers. Thanks to the company’s ultra-modern production and finishing options, Freudenberg Performance Materials can offer a wide variety of ostomy filter variants, both on rolls and as a finished product. These can meet the specific requirements of ileostomy or colostomy products.