A Point Well Made – UV Curable Adhesives for Medical Applications

Eurobond have a range of products that are ideally suited to the manufacture of medical syringe needles, an application where efficient, rapid and reliable needle bonding is essential. In addition to the required mechanical bond strength, these adhesives must be compatible with high-precision production, deliver permanent joining and be able to withstand the rigours of various sterilisation methods and processes.

The attributes required for an adhesive in the manufacture of medical syringe needles, can all be found in the Vitralit® range available at Eurobond. These UV curing, medical grade adhesives, are available in various viscosity ranges to suit various needle hub designs and to fill the gap between the hub and the needle.

Vitralit®’s adhesives that are of a medical grade, and can be used for needle bonding, are solvent-free and certified USP Class VI and/or ISO 10993 for use in medical equipment. In addition to this, high needle extraction forces were measured with all needle bonding adhesives, even after multiple sterilisation cycles.

• Vitralit® 1702
  • Low viscosity, medical grade, plastic bonding UV adhesive
  • Wicking grade – designed to capillary into joints
  • High material strength and a tack-free finish
  • Fast cure properties at low UV intensities
  • Can be used to bond plastic tube connectors, back pressure valves, blood filters and much more
  • Will bond PC, PVC (Hard), ABS and SAN
• Vitralit® 1703
  • Medical grade, plastic bonding UV adhesive where high gap filling capabilities are required
  • Thixotropic nature provides clean, fast and automated dispensing processing
  • High material strength and a tack-free finish
  • Compatible with most common sterilisation methods, such as ethylene oxide an gamma sterilisation
  • Typical applications include bonding tube connectors, back pressure valves and blood filters
  • Will bond polycarbonate, PVC (Hard), ABS and SAN
• Vitralit® 4731
  • Medium viscosity, medical grade, plastic bonding adhesive
  • Well suited to applications where gap filling properties are required
  • UV and visible light curing
  • Bonds to a variety of substrates including metal, ceramic, glass and many plastics
  • Cured product is optically clear and resistant to yellowing
  • Will cure to a tack-free finish
  • Typically used in electronic and medical applications, optics and for fixing parts in general
  • Will bond PMMA, PC, PVC (Hard), PET-A, PET-G, ABS, Glass and S/Steel
• Vitralit® 7989
  • Medium viscosity, medical grade, plastic bonding adhesive
  • Suitable for applications where gap filling properties are required
  • Provides flexibility and high adhesion to plastics
  • Will withstand most common sterilisation processes
  • Well suited for use in the automated assembly of disposable medical devices

When choosing a UV curing adhesive you will also require a UV light curing system to cure your adhesive after application. Alongside its UV curing adhesive range, Eurobond have available, the latest in UV curing technology from German UV light manufacturer, Hönle AG.

There are two types of UV light curing systems, namely gas discharge lamps and LED Lamps. Unlike their gas discharge counterparts, LED light sources have a monochromatic light spectrum with specific light wavelengths, which can be matched to the curing requirements of the particular adhesive being used. The specific light wavelengths available, from LED systems, in the UV range are between 365 – 395nm and in the visible-light range from 405 – 460nm.

Other benefits of utilising LED UV curing systems is that they can be turned on and off as many times as you like and have no warm-up or cool-down cycles. As the LED variants produce virtually no heat, they can be used around applications such as bonding thin film or heat sensitive materials. The life of an LED system can be up to 20,000 hours, which when compared to its gas discharge equivalent can be up to 40 times as long lasting.

For more information on our UV curing adhesives, including technical datasheets, please click here. For further information on Eurobond’s UV light curing systems, please click here.