Biocompatibility Evaluation of Encapsulation Materials

Lead Division
Assembly & Packaging, Division 6

Other Divisions Participating
Polymer Processing, Division 4
Microfluidics, Division 10
Micro-Sensors & Actuators, Division 11

Summary
Microsystems start to become one of the hugest achievements in the treatment and diagnosis of patients requiring permanent medical care (Alzheimer, Paralysis, Retinal Degredation, ….) The materials typically used in electronics are –unfortunately- incompatible to the bodily environment. Protective encapsulants are used to protect both the body but as well the electronics from harm. However, the choice of proven encapsulants is severely limited. This is mostly due to the fact, that no systematic study dedicated to material selection has been done up to now and the manufacturers of systems cling to proven materials, as this approach does not add to their research budget. From this, often non-optimal solutions come out. The XDP now targets this field by bringing together the expertise of various 4M divisions, collecting the findings in a survey to identify white spots and to lay the basis for a fast screening of a wide range of materials being used for encapsulation/protection of medical devices.

The main results of the Cross-Divisional Project will be:

•A roadmapping/benchmarking report on biocompatibility tests and on encapsulation materials with proven biocompatibility. This will also cover the aspect of bio-resistivity against bodily fluids.
•Identifying the lack of knowledge (e.g. comparing the modern, much better encapsulation materials used in electronics against the available data for biocompatibility)
•A proposed test setup allowing a quick screening of a multitude of materials.
•Round robin testing of two known ecapsulant samples using the established test setup at the partner´s sites to allow future cross correlation of other materials tested utilizing this broadened test basis for faster screening.

Status of this Cross-Divisional Project
To be completed March 2008.