polymerguru

Envoy Medical Corp., St. Paul, Minn., has developed the industry's first totally implantable hearing system for moderate to severe sensorineural hearing loss. The Esteem® prosthetic hearing restoration device features two terminal connectors made of Zeniva polyetheretherketone  ( PEEK ) resin from Solvay® Specialty Polymers USA, LLC. Zeniva®  PEEK -  part of Solvay's family of Solviva® Biomaterials - provides biocompatibility, strong insulative properties, and excellent mechanical performance.   Unlike hearing aids, the Esteem implantable hearing device does not use a microphone or a speaker. Instead, it uses the natural ear drum to detect sound and send a clear message to the brain, via the auditory nerve, by stimulating the cochlea with its prosthetic simulator. Last year, Envoy Medical received pre-market approval (PMA) from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for commercial distribution of the Esteem® implantable hearing device. "We believe that the Estee

Production-run pellets made partially from plastic ocean litter have become a reality, thanks to 18 months of cooperation between packaging brand designer Method and recycler Envision Plastics Industries LLC. The first batch of pellets streamed off the production line at Envision's Chino plant around noon March 1. Executives from both companies beamed with pride and excitement, and captured the technology breakthrough, snapping pictures and video. They then watched as the otherwise unassuming black pellets were loaded into 1,200-pound boxes, ready to be molded into a Method-designed container that will hit a major grocery chain this fall. "We did a couple of fist pumps," smiled Adam Lowry, co-founder, CEO and chief groundskeeper of the  San Francisco-based Method, whose packages are made from 100 percent recycled materials. Lowry declined to name the product that will be made from the ocean scrap, but he said that it will be an existing product, in one of the company'

Kindness is the basis of happiness. Kindness is the basis of the life we live. Kindness is the basis of the dharma. The basis of practicing the dharma should be on a caring positive mind. So kindness is understanding. Kindness is a thing that you don't take advantage of. It is seeing that it is directly and indirectly benefiting you. For example, if you are giving alms to a beggar and if you have a feeling of savior or superiority, then think twice. Who is doing a favor to whom. I would say that the beggar is doing a favor to you. If there is no beggar, and if you have the motivation of accumulating merit by giving alms to beggars, then who are you going to give to? Kindness can produce a good caring heart. So think of kindness towards your parents who care for you, your friends who are doing something special to you, and even to a waiter who is serving you. Don't take advantage of that or think you own that because it is their responsibility or that they should since you are

Victrex Polymer Solutions, one of the leaders in high performance polyaryletherketones, has reaffirmed its security of supply in anticipation of increased demand as commercial airplane manufacturers plan to boost production rates to record levels. Victrex issued a Security of Supply statement outlining its ability to provide VICTREX  PEEK  polymer at a time when many other polymer manufacturers are struggling to keep up with customer demand. Victrex has a proven track-record of investing in capacity ahead of demand, creating a stable supply position for its global customers across a wide and growing range of applications in the aerospace, automotive, industrial, oil and gas, alternative energy and electronics sectors. Amphenol PCD, a subsidiary of Amphenol Corporation, one of the world's largest manufacturers of interconnect products, is a direct supplier on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and a long-time Victrex customer. Amphenol PCD produces high performance wiring, cable, and hydra

Scientists under the direction of ETH Zurich have created a minor sensation in synthetic chemistry. They succeeded for the first time in producing regularly ordered planar polymers that form a kind of "molecular carpet" on a nanometre scale. At ETH Zurich in 1920, the Chemist Hermann Staudinger postulated the existence of macromolecules consisting of many identical modules strung together like a chain. For this he was initially rewarded with mockery and incomprehension in professional circles. But Staudinger was to be proved right: today the macromolecules described as polymers are known as plastics, and by 1950 one kilogram of them was already being produced per capita worldwide. Today, more than ninety years after Staudinger's discovery - for which the chemist was honoured with the Nobel Prize in 1953 - about 150 million tons of plastics are manufactured every year. A gigantic industry developed, without whose products our daily life is no longer imaginable. A research

ClikTech Inc., Buffalo Grove, Ill., one of the leading manufacturers of dental sensor and x-ray film holders, has launched the industry's first thermoplastic rod for dental x-ray holder systems. The company's new Litening Rods™ , made of Radel® polyphenylsulfone ( PPSU ) resin from Solvay Specialty Polymers USA, LLC, replace metal rods which are labor intensive and more costly. The new product made of Radel®  PPSU  is light, autoclavable, reusable, and less costly. ClikTech will make the product introduction at the Chicago Dental Society's 2012 Mid-Winter Meeting Feb. 23-25 at McCormick Place in Chicago. Metal rods have been used for decades in dental offices. Although effective, they are costly and prone to breakage, according to Thomas Gillen, president of ClikTech Inc. Metal rods require labor-intensive manufacturing steps including steel forming, bending, and pin insertion. "We have reached a time when we can combine both new and old technologies to produce the

Ajinomoto Co., Inc. ("Ajinomoto") and Toray Industries, Inc. ("Toray") have entered into an agreement to begin joint research for manufacturing the nylon raw material 1,5-pentanediamine (1,5-PD) from the amino acid lysine produced from plant materials by Ajinomoto using fermentation technology, and commercializing a biobased nylon made from this substance. Biobased nylon is a type of nylon manufactured by polymerizing chemicals produced from plant materials. The biobased nylon that Ajinomoto and Toray will research and develop is produced from plant materials by decarbonating the amino acid lysine through an enzyme reaction to make 1,5-PD, which Toray then polymerizes with dicarboxylic acid. The amino acid lysine is a core product of the Ajinomoto Group produced using fermentation technology. This biobased nylon fiber made from 1,5-PD is not only sustainable because it is plant-based, but also shows promise for development into highly comfortable clothing. For exa