RadiSurf
Driving Polymer Brush Coating Technology for Improved Adhesion Capabilities

Until recently, the composites developed in the medical industry have not performed optimally, due to the existing adhesive solutions, which neither provided a sufficiently strong bond, nor produced the required longevity, of the materials used. As a result, RadiSurf’s polymer brush coating, which helps achieve a significantly improved adhesion between dissimilar surfaces, represents a major breakthrough for both the adhesive as well as the medical industries. Up until recently, companies were unable to use the (academically known) polymer brush chemistry at a commercial level. This is because the technology’s oxygen-sensitive nature requires stable, controlled environments, and subsequently, no one had been able to manufacture it at volume. Nevertheless, with a deep technical knowledge, consistent effort, and focused investments, the founders of RadiSurf managed to solve this riddle and develop it in such a way to produce it at scale and stability, to make the technology commercially viable. Their patented process enables the polymer brushes to be grown and applied widely and easily through its RadiBond, RadiPrime, and RadiCoat solutions. The company has transformed the technology to be bio-compatible and oxygen tolerant, thereby making it highly scalable and robust. “With our solutions, clients can easily receive polymer coatings that have been tailored to meet their specific requirements,” says Mie Lillethorup, the CTO of the company.

RadiSurf’s RadiBond solution directly bonds materials such as metals, glass ceramics, and so forth with thermal plastics. Thus, clients can now utilize this solution to weld or overmold various dissimilar surfaces seamlessly and improve the adhesion between the surfaces. The highly stable nature of the chemistry is an added bonus, allowing RadiBond to be applied on surfaces that are stored before over-molding or welding. Similarly, the RadiPrime solution improves the existing adhesion between inorganic materials and traditional adhesives, polymer-based coatings, and paints.

With our solutions, it has become very convenient for the clients to receive polymer coatings that have been tailored to meet their specific requirements

The specially designed structure ensures endurance and stability of epoxy adhesive to the inorganic surfaces, making it very valuable to the medical industry. In addition to its adhesive properties, with its RadiCoat solution, RadiSurf can also use the polymer brushes as a coating itself. In this version, it can be used to develop, e.g., anti-fouling and anti-slip coatings, which is especially useful for biosensors.

Already these benefits have caught the attention of a number of industry players, and the company is collaborating with clients in both the medical and sensor industry. As an example, in the case of one client’s optical sensor, the polystyrene cap that housed an active component could not withstand the harsh environment it was exposed to. Once RadiSurf applied its polymer brush technology-infused solutions to coat the tip of the glass fiber, it significantly improved the adhesion between the cap and the glass fiber. In fact, the polystyrene cap itself started to degrade before, due to the regular application, while the adhesion to the glass fiber remained intact, demonstrating the strength of the technology.

In another collaboration,RadiSurf enabled the client to weld two materials together without hampering the main plastic membrane of the composite. Although adhering plastic membranes with ceramics or metals has always presented severe obstacles, once they applied the coating to the material with RadiSurf’s adhesive solution, the ceramic and the metal became compatible with the plastic membrane material for welding.

Continuing on the back of these successes, RadiSurf is now focusing on utilizing polymer coating technology as a wider ‘chemistry solutions platform’ to establish itself as a leader in the adhesion and coating industry. The company is looking to further enhance its capabilities for developing additional surfaces and interfaces that improve the bonding between a wide array of materials. Furthermore, the company is expanding geographically. Apart from its headquarters in Denmark, RadiSurf is opening offices in the US and making headway into Asia.