Germany based nonwovens producer, Freudenberg has created a unique nonwovens fabric for positioning drugs exactly where they are needed in the body before they are released in a controlled manner.

"This unique nonwoven material created with the help of a novel scaffolene technology, is expected to open up new and innovative possibilities in surgical, wound care, and regenerative medicine," it said.

According to Freudenberg, in medical treatment, it is critically important to deliver drugs to precisely the right place in the body and scaffolene technology does just that.

The nonwoven fabric is made of bioresorbable materials that are absorbed by the body and during production, drugs, enzymes or growth hormones can be incorporated directly into the fabric for later application in surgery, wound healing and regenerative medicine.

In its dry state, scaffolene is flexible and tear-resistant and it even remains stable when wet, retaining its structure and effectively resisting clumping, which means that it can be easily and safely moved into the right place in the body during surgery, for example, to stop bleeding.

Due to its flexibility, the nonwoven material can also be used in minimally invasive surgery and the fabric can also treat surgical sites, promote healing of open wounds or rebuild bone after a fracture.

The key to various applications of scaffolene technology lies in the production process, as the nonwovens are made of bioresorbable polymers of natural or synthetic origin.

The composition of the polymers determines the biological and mechanical properties of the nonwovens, such as their degradation in the body or resistance to tearing.

“The advantage for the customer is that Freudenberg can use scaffolene to customize the various nonwovens following a modular principle to meet specific medical requirements,” the nonwovens producer said.

Freudenberg experts began their research and development work back in 2007, with the initial impetus for the technology coming through a customer request.

A gelatin manufacturer was looking for a nonwoven fabric made of gelatin for medical applications, which would dissolve in the body.

In response, Freudenberg developed an innovative machine that was able to produce bioresorbable nonwovens at low temperatures using a rotary spinning process.

The gentle spinning rotor technology enables sensitive raw materials like gelatin to be processed under clean room conditions which meet the strict requirements for medical products.

“This guarantees the customer reliability, as well as the consistent and safe quality of the medical nonwovens,” Freudenberg informed. (AR)