Who You Gonna Call?
It isn’t only Ghostbusters that have to worry about being slimed! Last Friday, chaos ensued when 3,400 kg of hagfish were accidentally deposited on a highway in Oregon. This slimy traffic accident reminded us of work we performed a few years ago in collaboration with Prof Douglas Fudge on understanding quite what is going on […]
Phoenicopterus Ruber Plasticus
We are approaching the 60th anniversary of a very important milestone that coupled the unpresuming plastic industry with the world of kitsch: the development of the pink plastic lawn flamingo. The lawn flamingo was invented by the appropriately and presciently-named Donald Featherstone. Mr. Featherstone, after graduating from the Worcester Art Museum, took a job with […]
Developing a Thicker Skin
Development of synthetic tissue models has been gaining speed over the past decades as materials, designs, and processing techniques have become more sophisticated. Polyurethane and silicone organ models adorn the desktops of many scientists and physicians, and serve as useful anatomical images and guides. For actual surgical technique development and training, these rigid materials sometimes […]
Minimizing Risk in Medical Device Material Selection
Are you selecting materials for use in a medical device and feeling overwhelmed by the dizzying array of material options? In this webinar, Dr. Brian Ralston shares the process CPG uses to help clients select and test materials to minimize risk and maximize safety, efficacy, and prospects for regulatory approval. Brian Ralston, Ph.D., P.E., researches […]
It Is All About Size
Ethylene gas, hexane, paraffin wax, and polyethylene all have the same chemical building block, namely an ethylene group (CH2-CH2). The difference in properties in these materials comes from the number of ethylene groups that make up a single molecule. Ethylene gas has a single group (or repeat unit), hexane has 3, and polyethylene can go […]
Cobalt Brew: Frothy Foam, Sick Heart
The normal effects of beer consumption are well known. The ethanol in beer enters the blood stream and eventually makes it to the brain, where the ethanol molecules can sit between brain cells and interfere with neurotransmission, the electrochemical process that controls the activities in the brain, such as body movement, communication, and general thought […]
Waxworm Eats Plastic
The durability of plastic materials is both a benefit and a liability. Many plastics can withstand harsh weather, salt spray, ultraviolet light, and mechanical stress for years without visible effect. Unfortunately, this durability also means that when we are done with the plastic, it persists in our waste stream for years, resisting breakdown. A view […]
Born to Run…GCMS & DMA
Running shoe technology has come a long way since Bill Bowerman, a running coach at the University of Oregon, first made prototypes by melting rubber into treads with a waffle iron in the 1960s, starting what would become Nike. As material technology improved, along with capabilities in analyzing running kinematics and physiology, shoe designs have […]
What Plastic to Use in Your Medical Device?
The selection of a polymer for a medical device requires careful thought and knowledge of both the plastic and the target application, and how each will respond to the other. The range of choices of polymers for medical applications continue to increase as resin manufacturers synthesize novel homopolymers and copolymers, compounders create polymer blends and […]
CPG Receives ISO 17025 Accreditation
Cambridge Polymer Group is pleased to announce ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accreditation by the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA). ISO/IEC 17025:2005 is the international standard by which a testing laboratory’s commitment to quality and technical competence is evaluated. ISO 17025 includes ISO 9001 standards and adds higher level requirements, specific to testing laboratories. CPG underwent a […]