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August 6, 2025 18 mins

Have you ever paused to think about what holds those tiny, life-saving gadgets in place—like the adhesive on your wearable monitor or the seal inside a stent? In this episode, Adhesion Matters unpacks the quietly powerful role that adhesives play in medical device innovation.

Why This Episode Is Essential Listening

  • Beyond “Just Glue”
    Modern medical-grade adhesives are highly engineered polymers—not just sticky substances. They're replacing screws, welding, and mechanical fasteners by evenly distributing stress, enhancing device durability, and even preventing corrosion in critical healthcare settings.
  • Safety First: Biocompatibility & Sterilization
    Discover how adhesives must meet grueling regulatory benchmarks like USP Class VI and ISO 10993. Learn what it takes to survive repeated sterilization—whether by gamma, ETO, steam, or harsh chemicals—without degrading, while staying non-toxic and reliable across extreme temperatures.
  • Material Chemistry, Tailored for Medical Applications
    • Epoxies: Built for strength and longevity—perfect for sealing, potting, and reusable devices that stand up to sterilization.
    • Light-Cure Adhesives: UV/LED systems that cure in seconds—often with fluorescent additives for 100% automated production inspection.
    • Cyanoacrylates (Instant Glues): Now impact-resistant and sterile-ready, ideal for needle hubs and fast assembly.
    • Polyurethanes & Silicones: Key for flexible, biocompatible bonds—critical in wearables, wound care, and devices on the move.
    • PSAs: Tailored for wearables like patches and sensors—non-irritating but high-performance, often tweaked for easy removal.
    • Specialized Formulations: Conductive, thermal, or radiopaque adhesives that do more than bond—they carry signals, dissipate heat, or show up clearly in medical imaging.
  • Pressing Industry Challenges & the Adhesive Response
    • Regulatory Complexity & Quality Control: Adhesive suppliers now deliver pre-tested, standards-compliant materials and predictive modeling to speed approvals.
    • Supply Chain Resilience: From economic pressures to global disruptions, adhesives are increasingly about dependable partnerships—not just products.
    • Smart, Connected Healthcare Tech: Adhesives help integrate sensors, manage device heat, and drive next-gen wearable design.
    • Patient-Centric & Sustainable Design: Breathable, soft, eco-friendly adhesives are pushing the comfort and green credentials of medical devices forward.

In a word: adhesives are no longer afterthoughts—they’re foundational to modern healthcare innovation.

Takeaways

  • If you're in medical device design, bring adhesive experts into the conversation early—don’t treat them as an afterthought.
  • Consider adhesives not only for performance but for user comfort, device footprint, sterilization durability, and environmental impact.
  • For adhesive makers: specialization, compliance, sustainability, and smart partnership are your keys to shaping the future of medical tech.
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Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Lucas Adheron (00:00):
Have you ever really stopped to think about
the hidden tech in, say, asimple IV tube?
Or maybe one of those tinysensors that sticks to your
skin?
We tend to focus on the bigmedical breakthroughs, you know,
the flashy stuff.
But what about the invisiblethings holding it all together?
I'm talking about adhesives.
Yeah, glue, right?
That's what most of us think.
But what if I told you thesesticky solutions are actually...

(00:22):
like right at the forefront ofmedical innovation, sometimes
literally saving lives.
So in this deep dive, we'regoing to pull back the curtain
on these unsung champions,medical device adhesives.
We'll explore how they've gonefrom just basic bonding agents
to really sophisticated,critical parts of advanced
health care.
We've gathered insights from,well, a whole range of sources,

(00:44):
market analyses, chemicalcompany experts, industry
reports to give you the fullpicture.

Elena Bondwell (00:48):
Exactly.
And our mission today really isto unpack this whole intricate
world We want to look at theunique properties of these
medical-grade adhesives, theirhuge range of applications, and
the absolutely pivotal role theyplay, you know, in patient
safety, device performance, andeven driving future innovation
in healthcare.
The goal is to uncover somesurprising facts, maybe some

(01:09):
deep insights into this oftenoverlooked but really crucial
industry segment.

Lucas Adheron (01:14):
Okay, let's get into it then.
Let's peel back the layers.
When most people hearadhesives, they think, I don't
know, super glue.
Maybe duct tape.

Elena Bondwell (01:22):
Yeah.

Lucas Adheron (01:23):
But in the medical device world, it's a
whole different ballgame.
Modern adhesive tech isn't justglue.
It's actually sophisticatedpolymeric material.
So basically engineered plasticwith specific chemistries.
And it often replaces or worksalongside traditional things
like screws, rivets, evenwelding.

Elena Bondwell (01:40):
Precisely.
And they offer some reallydistinct advantages over those
older methods.
Take stress distribution.
That's a big one.
Unlike a screw, which createsthis like single point of
intense pressure.

Lucas Adheron (01:50):
Right, like where the screw head is.

Elena Bondwell (01:51):
Exactly.
Adhesives spread thatmechanical stress out evenly
over a much broader area.
This avoids those concentratedstress points, it leads to much
stronger designs, and ultimatelyimproves the device's integrity
and how long it lasts.
Just imagine trying to screwtogether some tiny, delicate
sensor without cracking it.
Adhesives make that possible.

Lucas Adheron (02:12):
Okay, that makes sense.

Elena Bondwell (02:13):
And another fascinating thing is their role
in corrosion prevention.
Think about the environmentsthese devices operate in inside
the body or hospitals withconstant gleaning.
Adhesives form a barrier,basically.
They prevent or drasticallyreduce corrosion, which is
absolutely vital for performanceand, of course, patient safety.

Lucas Adheron (02:32):
Yeah, you definitely don't want things
corroding inside you.

Elena Bondwell (02:34):
Definitely not.
Then there's designflexibility.
This is where engineers reallybenefit.
Adhesives give them incrediblefreedom.
They can bond materials thatusually don't bond well
together, like glass to metal ordifferent plastics to ceramics,
even materials that expand andcontract differently with
temperature changes.
This is huge for creatingcomplex, multi-material devices.

Lucas Adheron (02:56):
So they can pick the best material for each part,
and the adhesive just holds itall together.

Elena Bondwell (03:00):
That's the idea.
And maybe most importantly, forwhere healthcare is going,
adhesives are key forminiaturization.
They let engineers securelybond tiny, lightweight,
microelectric components.
This enables less invasivesurgical tools, really
sophisticated wearables,advanced diagnostics.
It all pushes towards betterpatient outcomes and comfort.

Lucas Adheron (03:20):
Wow.
Okay, so definitely way beyondjust sticky.
But what actually makes anadhesive medical grade?
How does it go from hardwaresource stuff to something safe
for the body?

Elena Bondwell (03:29):
That's the critical question, isn't it?
And yeah, it's complex.
Medical grade adhesives are aspecial class.
They're meticulouslyformulated.
The number one priority isensuring they're non-toxic and
safe while once they're fullycured for their specific use.
And the absolute top criterionis biocompatibility.
This means the adhesive mustnot cause any harmful biological

(03:50):
reaction when it touches humantissue or fluids.
And this isn't just ticking abox.
It involves intense, rigoroustesting, everything from
checking if it harms cellsthat's set of toxicity to making
sure it's safe with blood or ifit's implanted in tissue.
Standards like USP Class 6 andISO 10993 are the gold standard
here.
They're non-negotiable.

Lucas Adheron (04:10):
Okay, so biocompatibility is paramount.
What else?

Elena Bondwell (04:13):
Well, sterilization compatibility is
another huge one.
Medical devices, especiallyreusable ones, have to endure
repeated sterilization withoutbreaking down.
We're talking harsh methods.
High energy radiation likegamma or electron beam, ethylene
oxide gas, ETO, hightemperature steam autoclaving,
chemical sterilants.

Lucas Adheron (04:30):
Right, things that would destroy normal
materials.

Elena Bondwell (04:32):
Exactly.
The adhesive has to withstandall that, potentially multiple
times, without degrading.
Then you have mechanicalintegrity and durability.
Then need high bond strength,obviously, but also resilience.
They have to resistcompression, stretching,
vibration, shock, and maintainthat integrity across a really
wide temperature range.
We mentioned, you know, minus60 Fahrenheit up to potentially

(04:53):
450 degrees Fahrenheit.

Lucas Adheron (04:55):
Incredible range.

Elena Bondwell (04:56):
It is.
And related to that is chemicalresistance.
Medical devices encounter allsorts of things, aggressive
cleaners, bodily fluids,medications.
The adhesive has to resistbreaking down.
Dimensional stability is alsokey.
You don't want the adhesiveshrinking or expanding
significantly during curing orwith temperature changes, it
needs to hold its shapeprecisely.

Lucas Adheron (05:17):
Cheap sticker curling up, can't have that.

Elena Bondwell (05:19):
Precisely.
And finally, the curing processitself is a big factor,
especially for manufacturing.
Fast curing adhesives likelight cure or instant adhesives
are often preferred for highspeed automated assembly lines.
They just speed everything up.
And it's worth pointing outthis really strict regulatory
environment, you know, companieslike Henkel moving fully to ISO
10993 testing.

(05:39):
It's not just a barrier.
It actually drives innovation.
It pushes companies to developbetter, safer, more advanced
materials constantly.

Lucas Adheron (05:47):
Wow, that is an incredibly high bar.
It sounds like biocompatibilityand sterilization are maybe the
toughest nuts to crack,especially with regulations
always evolving.

Elena Bondwell (05:55):
I'd say biocompatibility, especially
proving long-term safety undernew rules like the EU MDR, the
European Medical DeviceRegulation, that's a constant
challenge.
The standards keep gettinghigher.
And balancing that need for,say, a fast cure with the
ability to withstand multipledifferent sterilization methods,
yeah, that requires someserious material science
know-how.

Lucas Adheron (06:14):
Okay, so given all these demands, it makes
total sense that there's nosingle magic adhesive.
It has to be specific.
So what are the differenttypes, the different
chemistries?

Elena Bondwell (06:24):
Absolutely.
Let's dive into the maincategories.
First, you've got epoxyadhesives.
These are real workhorses.
They're known for exceptionalstrength, great chemical and
thermal stability, again, thatwide, necically 60 degrees air
up to plus 450 degrees airrange.
You can get them opticallyclear or even electrically
conductive if needed.
And crucially, they handlemultiple sterilization cycles

(06:47):
really well.
So you see them used forstructural bonding, sealing,
potting orifice, basicallyfilling gaps in things like
blood oxygenators, filters,surgical tools, endoscopes.

Lucas Adheron (06:57):
So really strong, durable applications.

Elena Bondwell (07:00):
Exactly.
And think about this.
The robustness actually helpsmake reusable medical devices
economically viable.
That contributes tosustainability, which is a huge
plus.
It's not just glue.
It's enabling greener healthcare.

Lucas Adheron (07:10):
That's a great point.
What's next?

Elena Bondwell (07:11):
Next up, light cure adhesives.

Lucas Adheron (07:14):
Yeah.

Elena Bondwell (07:14):
Usually UV or LED cured.
Their superpower is speed.
They cure incredibly fast whenexposed to the right light,
often under 30 seconds.
Yeah.
They're tough, durable, oftenoptically clear.
And some have fluorescentadditives so they glow under UV
light.
This allows for automatedinspection on the production
line.
Really cool.

Lucas Adheron (07:33):
So you can instantly check if the bond is
good.

Elena Bondwell (07:35):
Precisely.
They bond well to metals,glass, lots of plastics.
You find them everywhere.
assembling syringes, IV sets,oxygenators, hearing aids,
catheters.
Companies like Henkel withtheir Loctate line really
leverage that fluorescence forquality control.
So the rapid cure, the clarity,the inspection capability, it
all boosts manufacturingproductivity, enables

(07:58):
high-volume automated assembly,and cuts costs.

Lucas Adheron (08:01):
Okay, so light cure equals speed and precision
for mass production.
What about those instant glues,cyanoacrylates?

Elena Bondwell (08:07):
Right, cyanoacrylate adhesives, or CAs,
or instant glues, in adhesives.
They're solvent-free, curealmost instantly just with
ambient moisture.
Very high strength, bond,different materials well.
Now, traditionally, theirdownside was being pretty rigid,
maybe brittle.

Lucas Adheron (08:21):
Yeah, I've snapped superglued things
before.

Elena Bondwell (08:23):
We all have.
But this is where the insightcomes in.
Manufacturers are constantlyinnovating.
You now have advancedformulations like Permabond's 4C
series, which are impactmodified.
They offer much bettertoughness and flexibility,
overcoming that old limitation.
They do have a lowertemperature limit, maybe up to
212 degrees occlestear or so,but they're great for rapid

(08:44):
assembly, quick fixes.
Think bonding the cannula tothe hub in a needle, catheter
assembly, tube sets.
Henkel's All-STT 40s or 61 is agood ISO 10993 PESTID example.
It shows that trade-off betweenspeed and flexibility and how
R&D keeps pushing thoseboundaries.

Lucas Adheron (09:02):
Interesting, so they're getting tougher.
What about adhesives that aredesigned to be flexible?

Elena Bondwell (09:06):
That leads us nicely to polyurethane
adhesives.
They offer excellent structureAh, so they absorb shock and
movement.
Exactly.

(09:31):
That makes them perfect fordevices that move or need to
conform to the body.
Think wearables, thingsdesigned for long-term patient
comfort.

Lucas Adheron (09:39):
Which brings us to silicone.
I imagine.
They seem synonymous withflexibility and skin contact.

Elena Bondwell (09:43):
You got it.
Silicone adhesives are reallydistinguished by their
exceptional flexibility, greatcolor stability, and high
temperature resistance, up tomaybe 500 degrees Fahrenheit.
Crucially, they are highlybiocompatible, generally
non-irritating, non-sensitizing,ideal for direct skin contact.
They also let gases andmoisture pass through, which can

(10:06):
be important.

Lucas Adheron (10:06):
Breathability.

Elena Bondwell (10:07):
Right.
So you see them in wearablemonitors, advanced wound
dressers.
That's so important forwearables

Lucas Adheron (10:28):
people might have on for days or weeks.

Elena Bondwell (10:30):
Absolutely critical.

Lucas Adheron (10:31):
So things like bandages or nicotine patches,
those sticky pads.
Are those silicones too orsomething else?

Elena Bondwell (10:36):
Those often fall under pressure-sensitive
adhesives or PSAs.
They could be silicone-based,but often they're acrylics or
other chemistries.
The key thing about PSAs isthey form a bond just with light
pressure, no curing needed.
Super convenient.
You can get them with a hugerange of tackiness levels,
different formulations.
Acrylic PSAs are interestingbecause their bond strength can

(10:58):
actually increase over time.

Lucas Adheron (10:59):
Really?
They get stickier?

Elena Bondwell (11:00):
Sort of, yeah.
They flow into the surfacetexture more.
They're critical for wearablesensors, wound dressings,
transdermal drug patches,anything needing secure...
non-irritating adhesion forextended periods, like ostomy
bags, monitoring systems, thesheer customization possible
with PSA is amazing.
You can really dial in thatbalance between sticking

(11:21):
securely for a long time, butstill allowing for comfortable,
low trauma removal.
That's patient-centric designin action.

Lucas Adheron (11:27):
It seems like there's an adhesive for
literally everything.
Are there even more specializedtypes?

Elena Bondwell (11:31):
Oh, yes.
We get into specializedformulations that add specific
functions.
For example, electricallyconductive adhesives.
They have conductive fillers,often silver, mixed in.
They're used to bond electroniccomponents where you need an
electrical connection, not justa physical bond.
Think sensors, circuit boards.
Masterbond has USP Class 6versions.

Lucas Adheron (11:51):
So the glue itself carries the current.

Elena Bondwell (11:53):
Basically, yes.
Then you have thermallyconductive adhesives.
They contain fillers likealuminum oxide to help transfer
heat away from components.
This is crucial for managingheat in medical electronics,
like imaging equipment, toprevent overheating.
Hinkle's All-LC TIE384 is anexample.

Lucas Adheron (12:10):
Keeping things cool.

Elena Bondwell (12:11):
Right.
And finally, radiopaqueadhesives.
These have fillers like bariumsulfate that show up on x-rays.
This lets doctors confirm theexact placement of an implanted
device non-invasively after aprocedure.
Super important.
These specialized types reallyshow that adhesives aren't just
passive stickum.
They're active, functionalparts of complex devices,
enabling integrated electronicsdiagnostics, making the adhesive

(12:34):
companies true partners inhigh-tech healthcare.

Lucas Adheron (12:37):
It's incredible the level of specificity and
functionality.
Just amazing.
Okay, so we know the what andthe why.
Who are the who?
Who are the major companiesdriving all this innovation?

Elena Bondwell (12:48):
Well, it's often the big global chemical
companies bringing their deepmaterial science expertise to
the table.
You have Dow, for instance,with their Dow Corning and Dow
Sil brands.
They're really strong insilicone-based solutions,
especially for that patientinterface wearables, skin
contact, and also for protectingsensitive electronics inside
devices.

Lucas Adheron (13:08):
Okay, Dow for silicones.

Elena Bondwell (13:09):
Then there's DuPont.
They have a broad approach.
Their Laveo silicone PSAs arekey for skin contact, designed
to be non-irritating but stilladhere well.
But they also provide materialslike Tyveki for sterile
packaging, which is critical.
And they're really pushingsustainability, looking into
things like silicone recycling.

Lucas Adheron (13:27):
Good to hear about the sustainability

Elena Bondwell (13:28):
angle.
Yeah, definitely.
You also have Henkel with theirfamous Loctite brand.
They offer a really diverseportfolio across different
chemistries.
Their focus is often on thingslike fast cure times, high
strength for assembly, andproviding integrated systems,
the adhesive, plus thedispensing and curing equipment.
They're also very committed toISO-1993 compliance, which helps

(13:49):
manufacturers streamlinethings.

Lucas Adheron (13:51):
So efficiency in systems.

Elena Bondwell (13:53):
Yeah, particularly for high-volume
manufacturing.
And then there's Huntsman.
They leverage expertise fromother demanding industries, like
aerospace, with brands such asEroldite and Polyresist.
They bring high-performanceepoxies, polyurethanes, and
acrylics, often used forstructural bonding in really
demanding demanding medicalapplications.

Lucas Adheron (14:11):
Okay, so different players bringing
different strengths andspecializations.
That gives us a good map of thecurrent scene.
But let's look forward.
What are the big challenges themedical device industry is
grappling with right now?
And how are adhesives helpingsolve them?

Elena Bondwell (14:25):
Right, this is where it gets really interesting
because adhesives are oftenright at the center of the
solutions.
First, there's the sheerregulatory complexity and
quality management.
Things like the EU MDR, the ISO13485 quality standard.
Navigating these is a hugeburden for device makers.

Lucas Adheron (14:44):
I can imagine.
Lots of paperwork, testing.

Elena Bondwell (14:46):
Exactly.
So adhesive manufacturers helpby providing materials that are
already pre-tested and certifiedto these standards.
They also offer predictivemodeling tools like Huntsman
does with data for theirErroldite products.
This helps device companiespredict performance, de-risk
their development process, andget regulatory approval faster
and cheaper.

Lucas Adheron (15:06):
So the adhesive supplier takes on some of that
burden.

Elena Bondwell (15:08):
In a way, yes.
They provide the foundationalcompliance.
Then there's economicuncertainty and supply chain
resilience.
Everyone's dealing with costpressures, material availability
issues.
Adhesive suppliers help byoffering a wide range of
cost-effective options and bybuilding strong partnerships to
ensure that supply chains remainrobust, minimizing disruption.

Lucas Adheron (15:27):
Stability is key.

Elena Bondwell (15:29):
Absolutely.
And then the huge wave ofdigital transformation and
connectivity.
We're talking AI, machinelearning, IoT, and medical
devices.
This requires seamless sensorintegration, heat from
electronics.
Adhesives are kind of theinvisible enablers here.
We're seeing better conductiveadhesives for reliable signals,

(15:50):
more flexible adhesives formoving parts in smart devices,
and those thermally conductiveones we mentioned to dissipate
heat.
They're fundamentally part ofmaking these smart devices work.

Lucas Adheron (15:59):
They literally connect the smarts.

Elena Bondwell (16:01):
You could say that.
And related is the massiveshift towards patient-centric
design and wearabletechnologies.
Wearables are booming.
That projected growth rate,nearly 18 per seat A to GR, is
far Phenomenal.
And here, adhesives areabsolutely critical to the user
experience.
It's not just about stickinganymore.
Innovation is all aboutskin-friendly materials, gentle
removal to minimize marsy,breathability, conformability,

(16:23):
anything that boosts comfort andmakes people actually want to
wear the device long-term.

Lucas Adheron (16:27):
Designing for the person, not just the function.

Elena Bondwell (16:29):
Precisely.
And finally, sustainability andthe circular economy.
This is becoming a major driveracross healthcare.
There's huge pressure to reduceenvironmental impact.
Adhesive companies areresponding responding by
developing bio-based materials,recyclable or biodegradable
options, formulations with lowVOCs, volatile organic
compounds.
It's a real push towards greenhealth care, but without

(16:52):
sacrificing the performanceneeded.
DuPont's work on siliconerecycling is a great example.

Lucas Adheron (16:57):
It really drives home that adhesive manufacturers
aren't just vendors anymore.
They're strategic R&D partners,aren't they?
Co-developing solutions,providing support.
They're really transforming thefield.

Elena Bondwell (17:07):
Absolutely.
So if we were to recap thiswhole deep dive, the core
insight is that transformation.
Adhesives have gone from juststicking stuff together to being
critical functional components.
They're indispensable enablers.
They sit right at theintersection of miniaturization,
digital health, designing forthe patient, and sustainability.

Lucas Adheron (17:24):
So wrapping this up, what are the key takeaways
for you, our listeners?
If you're a medical devicemanufacturer, what should you be
thinking about?
Well, it seems clear.
Engage with adhesive expertsearly in your design process.
don't treat it as anafterthought.
Think holistically aboutmaterial selection.
Yes, performance matters, butso does sustainability and the

(17:46):
patient experience.
Embrace how digital integrationimpacts your material choices
and keep monitoring performanceafter launch for continuous
improvement.

Elena Bondwell (17:55):
And for the adhesive suppliers listening,
the message seems to be...
Keep specializing.
Keep customizing.
Be leaders in sustainabilityinnovation.
Provide robust data, thosepredictive tools we mentioned,
and really focus on fosteringcollaborative partnerships
across the industry.
That's where the breakthroughswill happen.

Lucas Adheron (18:13):
COLIN MIRRER- Collaboration is key.
RISA

Elena Bondwell (18:14):
GOLUBOFF- It really is.
And looking even further ahead,I think we're heading towards
truly multifunctional adhesives.
Imagine materials that canprovide structure, conduct
electricity, manage heat, andmaybe even interact biologically
all at the same time.
That's pushing the boundariesof materials Wow.

Lucas Adheron (18:30):
Adhesives that do everything.
That's a fascinating thought toend on.
Ultimately, it feels like thefuture success of healthcare
innovation really hinges oneveryone's ability to adapt
through relentless innovation,smart partnerships, and just an
unwavering focus on safety,performance, and increasingly
sustainability.
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