4. Examples of applications on medical devices

4.1 Desensitization of implantable tissues

CO ₂ SC technology is particularly interesting for medical devices, as it enables residue-free cleaning in cleanrooms and greatly reduces bioburden (by 2 to 3 log), a level of quality still unrivalled on the market. Its low-temperature operation (between 35 and 50°C) preserves polymers and therefore does not lead to changes in their mechanical properties. A single CO ₂ treatment sometimes replaces several successive washing operations, and can cut cleaning time by up to 10 (2 to 3 h vs. 24 h for a diethyl ether Soxhlet process). On implantable textiles (knitted, woven), tests carried out on various polymers (PP, PLLA, PET, PE) validated the removal...