News & Events
Find out what's happening at PSI.
New Capability: ICP-OES March 2010
Polymer Solutions Incorporated has installed and validated a new state-of-the-art inductively coupled plasma (ICP) optical emission spectrometer (OES) to provide chemical element analysis for our clients. This equipment was installed in December 2009 and has gone through extensive calibration and method validation to assure the reliability of the data sets for our client’s projects. Over 65 chemical elements can be analyzed using this Thermo Scientific iCAP 6500 ICP-OES instrument, including all of the RoHS (Reduction of Hazardous Substances) heavy metals. The instrument has been validated for iron, tin, boron, antimony, phosphorus, sulfur, nickel, calcium, arsenic, lead, mercury, silver, zinc, and sodium, for example. A common application of this method, in addition to RoHS testing, is the determination of residual catalyst levels in medical polymers, and plastics and rubber materials.
New Capability: Bulk Density February 2010
Polymer Solutions Incorporated has installed and validated a new bulk density determination unit that conforms to ASTM Method D4895, Standard Specification for Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) Resin Produced From Dispersion. This specification covers Type I and Type II PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) dry-powder resins produced from dispersions of PTFE by manufacturing techniques that involve controlled coagulation of the dispersion. These PTFE resins are generally known as "fine-powder" resins or "coagulated-dispersion powder" resins. The ASTM Standard is available at: http://www.astm.org/Standards/D4895.htm
MD&M West February 2010
Polymer Solutions Incorporated is sending a team to the Medical Design & Manufacturing Conference and Exposition in Anaheim, CA February 8 through February 11, 2010. This MD&M West conference and exposition is a great opportunity for us to visit our clients, meet a variety of suppliers to the expansive and vital medical products industry, and stay up-to-date with products and services. Our team will be focusing on the latest advances and developments in medical grade materials, assembly components, electronics, design and engineering support, production equipment including automation and controls, regulatory compliance, packaging materials and machinery, sterilization systems, and contract services for the medical product development process. The MD&M West Conference is described at: http://www.devicelink.com/expo/west10
PLASTEC West February 2010
Polymer Solutions Incorporated is sending a team to the PLASTEC West show in Anaheim, CA February 8 through February 11, 2010. This PLASTEC West show is a great opportunity for us to visit our clients, meet a variety of suppliers providing solutions for the plastics processing industry. Our team will be focusing on the latest advances in primary processing machinery, production machinery, and materials. The PLASTEC West show occurs concurrent with MD&M West. More information about the PLASTEC West show is at: http://www.devicelink.com/expo/plastw10
WestPack February 2010
Polymer Solutions Incorporated is sending a team to the WestPack show in Anaheim, CA February 8 through February 11, 2010. The WestPack show occurs concurrent with MD&M West. Our team will be focusing on materials, packages, and package design as they relate to our client’s interests in cosmetic and personal care packaging, green packaging, and pharmaceutical and nutraceutical packaging. More information about the WestPack show is at: http://www.devicelink.com/expo/wpack10
SPE Failure Analysis Series January 2010
Polymer Solutions Incorporated, at the request of the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE), is presenting a 4-part Society of Plastics Engineers e-Live educational webinar series focusing on Failure Analysis.January 14, 2010 Part 1 Methods and Approaches by Dr. James Rancourt
January 21, 2010 Part 2 Microscopy and Physical Testing by Jay Tuggle
January 28, 2010 Part 3 Chemical Analysis Methods by Dr. Alan Sentman
February 4, 2010 Part 4 Molecular Weight and Additives by Jason Todd
Join us for the online presentation and question and answer period or purchase a copy of the series and view it at your convenience. The SPE site is at: http://www.4spe.org and the webinar can be purchased from the link at: http://www.4spe.org/online-store/analytical-approaches-characterize-products-and-issues-associated-recycled-materials
Institute for Validation Technology October 2009
Two of Polymer Solutions Incorporated Laboratory Managers, Jason Todd and Dr. Alan Sentman attended the Institute for Validation Technology Validation Week, October 28 through October 30, 2009 in Philadelphia. Process validation, as it pertains to pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturing was the main focus with specific topics including qualification, experimental design, method validation, ensuring data integrity, and risk analysis. PSI encourages continual improvement of our extensive quality system and the Institute for Validation Technology was an excellent opportunity for our scientists to relate the manufacturer’s process validation requirements with GMP compliant laboratory processes. More information about the Institute for Validation is found at: http://www.ivthome.comClient Site Visits November 2009
Sometimes the best way to provide in-depth relevant expertise is to have our experts visit a client’s facility. For one clients, a manufacturer of specialty polymer materials, one of our laboratory managers performed on-site consulting and training to perform GPC analysis to support their company’s R&D and manufacturing. In another case, one of our Director of Operations visited a client to provide polymer synthesis insights for the development of novel products. And, in another case, PSI sent a team to visit a pharmaceutical client to discuss current and future analytical work to properly support their ongoing process development and product stability studies. A customized presentation on the theory and practice of size exclusion chromatography (SEC) with multi-angle light scattering (SEC-MALS), and how PSI uses SEC-MALS to characterize specific polymer products was provided. PSI’s experts contributed to the these client’s commitment to developing innovative products.
CEO and Founder of Polymer Solutions Incorporated, Dr. James Rancourt, was awarded Entrepreneur of the Year from the NCTC - NewVa Corridor Technology Council. This award recognizes someone in our community who exemplifies what it means to be a risk-taker in the technology field. Read the Roanoke Times article or download as PDF.
Director of Operations, Dr. Sue Mecham, will be presenting a talk entitled "Polymer Product Test Data for FDA Submission" at the Polymers in Medicine and Biology: 2009. An international workshop organized and hosted by the Polymer Division of the American Chemical Society. Dr. Mecham’s talk will be presented at the afternoon session on the Monday June 15th.
CEO and Founder of Polymer Solutions Incorporated, Dr. James Rancourt, was recognized By Senator Mark Warner for his recent selection as a nominee for the Entrepreneur Award for this year's NewVa Corridor Technology Council (NCTC) TechNite Awards. TechNite is an annual gathering of the NewVa region’s technology community that is attended by more than 300 leaders in business and innovation.
PSI is attending NPE2009: The International Plastics Showcase, June 22-26, at Chicago’s McCormick Place. Nearly 2,000 companies will exhibit on 1 million square feet (93,000 square meters), more than a third of them coming from outside the United States. Approximately 75,000 plastics professionals from 120 countries are expected to attend.
PSI is attending OMTEC 2009: The Orthopedic Manufacturing and Technology Exposition and Conference, June 24 and 25, 2009 in Rosemont, Illinois. OMTEC fosters an environment conducive to learning, and has served as the event of choice for hundreds of orthopedic industry professionals since its launch in June 2005. Education is a competitive advantage, and OMTEC is proud to help hundreds of orthopedic professionals sharpen their edge.
Polymer Solutions Incorporated attended Interphex 2009 on March 17-19, 2009: "the world's most trusted source for leading-edge technology, education, and sourcing of the products and services that drive scientific innovation for Life Sciences manufacturing from drug development to market – accelerating regulated products for patient care globally." PSI presented a talk at the educational forum to better inform the medical device and pharma communities of our materials expertise and analytical capabilities that can be leveraged to streamline FDA approval. Dr. Jeff Mecham gave a presentation on Independent Testing and Analysis of Medical Devices and Materials.
Polymer Solutions Incorporated (PSI) attended the Medical Product Outsourcing Symposium Costa Rica on March 4-6, 2009 as a Silver-Level sponsor. This highly targeted, content-driven symposium brought together senior-level decision makers from medical device OEMs and contract manufacturing companies. PSI aims to further understand how we can best provide our analytical and QC/QA solutions, partnership level support and corporate focus on customer care to the growing medical product manufacturing community in Costa Rica, as well as to other medical device companies that are manufacturing products outside of the United States. Dr. Sue Mecham gave a presentation on Responding to Customer Complaints and Process Failures related to the medical device industry.
Polymer Solutions Incorporated Awarded Business of the Year 2008 Award
The Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce in Virginia has named Polymer
Solutions Incorporated as one of two Large Businesses of the Year in 2008.
Click here to learn more.> Business of the Year 2008 Award (PDF, 96 Kb)
Information Technology Lead Joins Polymer Solutions Incorporated
Polymer Solutions Incorporated has announced the addition of Steve Overstreet, effective August 25, 2008, to their expert team. Steve will serve as the Information Technology Lead for the corporation.
Click here to learn more.> Steve Overstreet Press Release (PDF, 64 Kb)
Visit Polymer Solutions Incorporated in Booth 3501.