Minimize non volatile leachables from plastic containers

Materials used for laboratory containers (test tubes, vials, flasks, etc.) need to be chemically inert, shatter proof, non leachable, and most often require optical clarity. Glassware fulfills most of these criteria but can easily shatter from physical or thermal shock. Plastic containers will not shatter but are susceptible to leachables such as plasticizers, stabilizers, polymerization residues etc. To achieve the best of both worlds PVA TePla America have developed a method to coat the insides of plastic containers with a quartz-like material that acts as a barrier to leachables. Flexible quartz-like coatings can be polymerized onto plastics by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). The resulting coating is a very thin (~0.5mm), highly conformal, non-crystalline and highly flexible (180o ASTM D522) coating. Markets for this barrier coating include; drug discovery, drug delivery, biological storage, stem cell and IVF culture wear. In addition to the barrier properties of this coating, SiO2 is also chemically resistant to solvents making it ideal for use in the analytical wear.

Improve reagent retrieval efficiencies

Reagent troughs are designed to maximize reagent recovery. Their shape, “V” or conical troughs, funnels residual reagent into more confined volumes where they can be readily retrieved. This is particularly important when using expensive reagents. Polypropylene is an ideal material for reagent troughs as it is inert, low cost and easily molded. However, polypropylene is also inherently hydrophobic. Hydrophobic surfaces make reagents form droplets on the side wall surfaces of the troughs reducing their recovery. Plasma surface modification makes polypropylene hydrophilic, eliminating droplet formation and maximizing reagent recovery.