What Happens When Medical Mesh Is Not Enough?

Medical device development often begins with a special application and the need to fulfil a function, not necessary with a material. Components frequently face demanding requirements, such as filtering fine particles, allowing airflow, withstanding subsequent processing, and meeting strict cleanliness standards. It is rarely possible to find a single material that delivers all of these properties.

Material selection is rarely based on a single requirement. Filtration performance, mechanical stability, flexibility, cleanliness, biocompatibility, and ease of manufacture can all influence the final choice.

The first question should therefore not be “which mesh should we use?”, but rather, “which properties must the material or component meet?”

The solution may be a woven mesh, but may also require another type of material, additional processing, or a construction that combines several materials and/or technologies.

For a medical venting project, we needed to develop a filtration component that could capture fine particles without losing its strength. Additionally, the material had to remain stable and easy to process during manufacturing.

Initially a “standard” membrane provided the required filtration performance, but not all the mechanical properties to ensure the functionality and strength needed during the use of the device. To meet these requirements, the Sefar development team combined a nanofiber membrane with a monofilament woven support for mechanical strength and a warp-knitted backing to protect the nano-fibers and ensure the flexibility of the three-layer compound.

Each layer has a different function. The membrane provides microfiltration, while the supporting materials add strength and stability without influencing the flexibility of the whole filter component. A hydrophobic finishing provides the required barrier to liquids.

Rather than creating a single, modified material, we developed a multi-layer composite where each component complements the others. This innovative construction became the basis for SEFAR MEDITEX® PORE.

The project reflects our core material development philosophy at Sefar: when special requirements arise in a project, we look beyond off-the-shelf options and use our manufacturing processes to shape a material that fits the application perfectly.
 

A second project started with a different challenge. Our customer uses a warp knitted mesh for its devices, but available suppliers could not provide the material with the required level of cleanliness.

Our approach was not to invent a new textile, but to establish the cleaning processes needed to turn a standard knitted material into an adequate product with the necessary cleanliness requirements for medical applications.

Sefar sourced the base material from an external partner and adapted its own medical washing and heat-setting processes. The washing process ensures strict cleanliness standards are met, while heat setting stabilizes the knitted structure to control its physical properties.

The final product includes all testing, process control, traceability, documentation, and appropriate packaging. This development became part of the SEFAR MEDITEX® KNT portfolio.

The material features a soft, flexible, and elastic structure - characteristics that could be relevant in applications such as wound care, blood filtration units and other medical devices.

The example also shows that material expertise alone may not solve the customer’s problem. Sefar's ability to precisely control the production, testing, documentation, and supply of its materials is key to solving critical application challenges
 

These projects started with very different needs. One required several materials combined into a specific solution. The other required controlled processing of an externally sourced material.

In both cases, the initial product request revealed only part of the challenge. Understanding the required function - and the limitations of existing options - made it possible to identify the way forward.

This approach expands the role of a material supplier. It connects material knowledge with processing, fabrication, quality control, and repeat manufacturing.

Encouraging developers to look beyond standard product catalogs opens up tailored material solutions and innovative possibilities that are easily overlooked at the start of a project.