Webinar Date: September 17, 2:00 p.m. EDT
When a product unexpectedly fails, performs below expectations, or does not meet safety standards, the cause often lies deep in the materials—or even in trace contaminants—you never knew were there. That’s where material deformulation becomes essential. Rather than building a product from scratch (formulation), deformulation is the investigative process of analyzing an existing material to reveal all its ingredients: base polymers, additives, surface treatments, and even subtle residues from manufacturing.
This deep analysis serves several vital roles: it helps identify the sources of product failure, clarifies why a competing product works better, and offers confidence when switching suppliers or moving manufacturing in-house.
Why Deformulation Matters
- Reveals sources of product failures and performance issues, leading to actionable troubleshooting and improvement.
- Allows teams to benchmark their products against competitors and discover what drives superior performance elsewhere.
- Validates the composition of materials for regulatory compliance and safety assurance.
- Enhances quality control by unveiling undisclosed changes or process-introduced impurities.
- Supports innovation and cost optimization by uncovering reformulation opportunities or substitute ingredients.
What You’ll Learn
This webinar will introduce the fundamentals of material deformulation—what it is, why it matters, and how it empowers manufacturers to tackle complex material problems. Attendees will discover the main analytical tools of deformulation]. The session will explain how these techniques lead to a comprehensive breakdown of materials and how the resulting insights can help teams reduce risk, troubleshoot failures, design safer products, and improve consistency.
Real-World Case Studies
Dr. Kalpana Viswanathan will share examples of how deformulation made a tangible difference for clients:
- Uncovering a Mystery Ingredient: Identifying and characterizing a hidden component in a processing aid, which enabled clearer specifications and better performance in future production.
- Benchmarking Against a Competitor: Diagnosing the cause of superior tensile strength in a competitor’s sample, including differences in crystallinity, fillers, and processing—leading to recommendations for improvement.
- Solving Safety Testing Failures: Tracing a failed cytotoxicity test to a specific contaminant, troubleshooting its source, and helping the client implement an effective mitigation plan.
- Understanding Syringe Cracking: Identifying unreacted epoxy monomer and process variability as root causes of product defects, along with best practices for handling and assembly.
About the Speaker
Dr. Kalpana Viswanathan is a seasoned polymer chemist with over ten years of research and development experience. Her portfolio includes pioneering coatings for implantable medical devices and recent work supporting medical device materials. She holds a U.S. patent in plasma bonding technology and is experienced in hydrogel synthesis, surface modification, biocompatible materials, and comprehensive material characterization. Dr. Viswanathan’s work bridges cutting-edge scientific discovery and practical problem-solving for safer, more effective products.
Why Attend
Whether you’re in medical devices, pharmaceuticals, or consumer products, hidden material risks can undermine your product just when you least expect it. This webinar will demonstrate how material deformulation unveils the real causes of product challenges and equips teams with practical solutions.
Register today to secure your spot and gain practical strategies for uncovering the unseen in your products.