Silastic (a
portmanteau
In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together. of '
silicone
In Organosilicon chemistry, organosilicon and polymer chemistry, a silicone or polysiloxane is a polymer composed of repeating units of siloxane (, where R = Organyl group, organic group). They are typically colorless oils or elastomer, rubber ...
' and '
plastic
Plastics are a wide range of synthetic polymers, synthetic or Semisynthesis, semisynthetic materials composed primarily of Polymer, polymers. Their defining characteristic, Plasticity (physics), plasticity, allows them to be Injection moulding ...
') is a trademark registered in 1948 by
Dow Corning
Dow Corning Corporation, was an American multinational corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, United States, and was originally established as a joint venture between The Dow Chemical Company and Corning Inc., Corning Incorporated. In 20 ...
Corporation for flexible,
inert silicone
elastomer
An elastomer is a polymer with viscoelasticity (i.e. both viscosity and elasticity) and with weak intermolecular forces, generally low Young's modulus (E) and high failure strain compared with other materials. The term, a portmanteau of ''ela ...
.
Composition
The Silastic trademark refers to silicone elastomers, silicone tubing and some cross-linked
polydimethylsiloxane
Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), also known as dimethylpolysiloxane or dimethicone, is a silicone polymer with a wide variety of uses, from cosmetics to industrial lubrication and passive daytime radiative cooling.
PDMS is particularly known for its ...
materials manufactured by Dow Corning,
[United States Patent and Trademark Office, . Filing date June 15, 1946; registration date April 13, 1948. Owner: Dow Corning Corporation, Midland, Michigan 48686-0994.] the owner of the global trademark.
Applications
Silastic-brand silicone elastomers have a range of applications. In the automotive industry they are used for making gaskets, spark plug boots, hoses and other components that must operate over a broad temperature range and resist oil and coolants. The elastomers are widely used in the architectural, aerospace, electronic, food and beverage, textile, and transportation industries for molding, coating, adhesion and sealing. Due to their inert nature,
medical-grade Silastic-brand silicone elastomers are important materials in numerous medical and pharmaceutical devices including catheters, pacemaker leads, tubing, wound dressings,
silos for abdominal wall defects,
[ by Sajani Shah MD, at M&M Conference at SUNY Downstate Medical Center. Feb 24, 2006.] and
nasolacrimal duct obstruction.
These medical-grade elastomers are also used in the manufacture of hyper-realistic masks, where they perfectly mimic the texture of human skin and follow all facial movements and expressions.
References
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External links
Dow Corning Corporation
Silicones
Elastomers
Brand name materials
Dow Chemical Company