Global Medical Hydrophilic and Hydrophobic Coatings Market, Forecast to 2023

Increasing Preference for Minimally Invasive Surgery and Awareness about Healthcare-associated Infections Drive the Coatings Demand

Medical coatings range from lubricious to antimicrobial to hydrophobic; each type of coating is used on a multitude of devices for many different applications to serve different purposes. For instance, lubricious coatings help in the easy traversing of medical consumables such as a catheter into the patient, thereby reducing the patient’s discomfort. On the basis of type, the market is divided into hydrophilic and hydrophobic coating.

Hydrophilic coatings are applied to medical devices to improve access for delivery and placement of devices such as endovascular catheters; hydrophobic coatings are water repellent, and this hydrophobicity makes treated surfaces easy to clean as deposits and residues left by water, dirt, and even oil cannot stick to or stain these surfaces.

There are various factors that have promoted the use of medical coatings among medical device manufacturers. Factors including awareness related to healthcare - or medical device–associated infection, advancements in medical technology, and increased preference of minimally invasive surgery have increased the demand for hydrophilic medical coatings.

Healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs) can occur in care homes, hospitals, or in a patient’s own home. Increase in awareness about the significant economic and personal damage done by microbes has driven the need for improved antimicrobial and antibacterial coatings that help counter the infections. To amplify the infection control activity of the hydrophobic coatings, Specialty Coating Systems launched SCS microRESIST® Antimicrobial Parylene Technology. This coating combines the benefits of biocompatible parylene with antimicrobial properties to effectively eliminate harmful microorganisms on coated devices.

In terms of product trends, Surmodics developed Serene coatings for endovascular medical devices, which provides excellent lubricity and low particulates through a one-coat UV curing process. The coatings are optimized for a wide range of catheter substrates and have been used on FDA-cleared coronary and peripheral devices.

The market of medical hydrophilic coating is highly concentrated, with top participants occupying a major chunk of the market. Surmodics is the global market leader in medical hydrophilic coatings market and partners with more than 80% of the top 15 cardiomedical device companies globally. Other company, Bicoat Incorporated develops and licenses biomaterial coatings for medical devices. DSM Biomedical is also one of the significant participants in the hydrophilic coatings market. The market of hydrophobic coating is fragmented with a number of participants operating in PTFE coatings and parylene coatings. Companies such as Specialty Coating System, Surface Solutions Group, and Aculon are some of the well-known companies operating in the medical hydrophobic coatings market.