Insights Blog

The friction between moving parts on disposable medical devices can be difficult to manage. Device makers typically use medical-grade lubricants such as oils or dry surface coatings to smooth the sensitive movements of devices.  Lubricants reduce any sticking and friction on parts that slide, shear, twist, rock or pivot. They solve this “stiction” problem that is common on single-use disposable medical devices such as staplers, cutters, staples, catheters, hypo tubes and other assemblies that have surface-to- surface movement.  Duraglide™ Dry Lubricant reduces the friction coefficient on treated parts to as low as 0.06 which reduces device actuation forces by as much as 25-30%. This makes the device easier to operate and control.

Duraglide Dry Lubricant is also used on in-house device assembly equipment and fixtures to help speed production. The lubricant is applied to chains and pulleys, metal extrusions, machine window guides and door tracks, part feed chutes and slides, conveyors and almost any other surface or assembly that benefits from a clean, durable, slick coating for optimum performance.  Duraglide Dry Lubricant also helps release plastic parts from their injection mould die cavities without leaving an oily film. 

Low Viscosity for Good Dispersion: Duraglide Dry Lubricant is typically applied by dipping, spraying or wiping. The carrier fluid disperses the coating onto the treated surface then quickly evaporates, leaving a very thin, dry, uniform layer on the surface of the treated part. Duraglide Dry Lubricant has a low viscosity to wet all surfaces and conform to the treated parts’ surface. This allows a consistent coating in high volume production environments, even on complex geometries or assemblies. It is low odor and leaves no residue (other than the coating being deposited on the substrate).

Easy-to-Use: Duraglide Dry Lubricant is easy to apply using simple in-house assembly processes. There’s no need to outsource your coating process. This saves both time and money in validating your assembly process since you always maintain custody of the parts during treatment.

Duraglide Dry Lubricant comes packaged ready-to-use minimizing labor-wasting mixing or batching inconsistencies.  It has an outstanding particle 'hang-time' with minimal bath agitation to consistently deliver smoother coatings. 

Nonflammable:

Duraglide Dry Lubricant is nonflammable reducing shipping and storage costs while maintaining a safe work area when it is applied to devices. This is especially important for high-volume, high-speed production facilities. Many mechanical assembly operations are prone to static discharge, so nonflammability for safety during use is essential.

Cleanroom Ready:  Duraglide Dry Lubricant is a medical-grade, milky-white dry lubricant with ultra-small PTFE particles to reduce friction.  It comes pre-mixed and packaged using factory-precise calibration during blending. A basic 2% concentration of solids dispersed in a solvent based carrier fluid is the most used concentration.  Duraglide Dry Lubricant coating is certified as ISO 10993 tested and doesn’t allow bacterial growth.  In addition to being hostile to pyrogens and other bioburden, it is compatible with all commercially used post assembly ultrasonic, radiation and ETO (Ethylene Oxide) sterilization processes. 

Unlike most lubricant oils, Duraglide Dry Lubricant is non-migrating.  It stays where it is applied. It doesn’t migrate or transfer to packaging or other untreated surfaces.  Nonmigrating also minimizes production line housekeeping which is essential in holding costs down when the lubricant is applied in a cleanroom environment.

It is safe to use and effective on a variety of materials including plastic, glass, metal and ceramic parts commonly used on medical devices. This helps ensure faster and easier validation for the coating process, its use on the treated device and for maintaining cleanroom protocols without added housekeeping requirements.

Durable for Longer Life:

Duraglide Dry Lubricant coating quickly dries into a coating that is ideal for single use/single procedure devices. It is often used as-applied, but the coating can be hardened using a simple post application heating process called melt coating. This gives the coating a longer service life. Melt coating imparts a more durable, uniform coating without any staining or unsightly clumps, drips or runs that might otherwise obscure required Unique Device Identification (UDI) markings.  

Meets European Medical Device Regulations:

With the industry transitioning to the new EU Medical Device Regulations (EU MDR; ref., EU 2017/745) Duraglide Dry Lubricant meets the validation requirements for both the manufacturing process as well as the validation of individual devices requiring lubrication.  

Post-assembly audits are easier because parts and assemblies are often coated in-house without loss of custody to outside vendors. Cleanroom sanitation validation is also simplified because unlike water-based processes, Duraglide Dry Lubricant is shelf-life stable and hostile to bioburden.  The physical properties of Duraglide Dry Lubricant give you a proactive approach to a measurable improvement in device function during use, ensuring positive user feedback on device function during post-market surveillance.  It all adds up to a simplified manufacturing process that is fairly easy to validate and maintain for long-term process consistency.  

Finally, MicroCare Medical also provides expert advice to help you simplify your medical device coating selection. This includes individualized consulting, in-lab testing, and the ability to provide both off-the-shelf and customised formulations to ensure the right dry lubricant for your specific device needs. Duraglide Dry Lubricant comes in concentrations ranging from 0.5% to 10%. Custom formulations also are available. 

Watch Duraglide in action with this Demo Video.