Beneath the shadowless lamp in a hospital, a cardiac stent implantation is underway. The catheter in the doctor’s hand is soft and precise, winding through the blood vessels and finally delivering the stent to the lesion. The core material of this seemingly ordinary catheter is liquid silicone rubber — a "magic rubber" that is rewriting the history of medicine.

The "Flexible Weapon" for Cardiac Surgery

Traditional medical catheters are mostly made of rigid plastic, which is prone to damaging the inner walls in complex blood vessels. However, liquid silicone rubber catheters have become a "new favorite" in the field of cardiovascular intervention due to their super flexibility and biocompatibility. "This material can bend naturally with the blood vessels, just like extending the 'sense of touch' of the doctor's hand," explained the Director of Cardiovascular Medicine at Peking Union Medical College Hospital. More importantly, silicone rubber catheters can withstand 134℃ high-temperature steam sterilization, and their safety for repeated use is far superior to that of disposable plastic products. In the field of neurosurgery, the "invisible ability" of liquid silicone rubber is even more precious. A cerebrospinal fluid shunt developed by an enterprise has a wall thickness of only 0.2 millimeters, but it can work continuously in the human body for more than 10 years. "Traditional materials will cause rejection reactions, but silicone rubber gets along well with human tissues, just like a second skin," revealed the person in charge of the R&D team. This product has helped more than 30,000 hydrocephalus patients regain their health.

A "Safety Revolution" for Implants

For medical devices that need to be implanted in the human body for a long time, liquid silicone rubber is triggering a safety revolution. Taking artificial joints as an example, traditional metal joints need to be replaced regularly and may release harmful ions. In contrast, silicone rubber-coated joints not only improve wear resistance by 3 times but also slowly release lubricating components, extending their service life to 20 years. "It's like installing a 'lubricating oil sac' for the joint, which reduces the patient's postoperative pain by 60%," said an orthopedic expert from Ruijin Hospital in Shanghai. In the field of diabetes treatment, insulin pump catheters made of liquid silicone rubber have achieved "intelligent controlled release" through nano-modification technology. "The micro-pores on the catheter wall will open and close automatically according to blood glucose levels, which is more accurate than traditional timed injections," the CTO of a biotechnology company showed the experimental data. "This technology reduces the patient's blood glucose fluctuation range by 40%."

The "Protective Shield" on the Anti-Epidemic Battlefield

During the COVID-19 pandemic, liquid silicone rubber played an important role in protective equipment. A medical protective mask developed by an enterprise uses a silicone rubber sealing ring, which solves the problems of easy aging and liquid leakage of traditional sponges. "This material can maintain elasticity between -40℃ and 200℃, so medical staff will not be hurt on the face even if they wear it for a long time," feedback from the head nurse of Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital. What is even more amazing is that liquid silicone rubber can also be made into degradable sutures. These sutures decompose automatically in the body after 6 months, eliminating the pain of suture removal. "By regulating the molecular structure, we make the material not only maintain sufficient strength but also degrade according to the predetermined time," introduced the team from the Institute of Materials, Chinese Academy of Sciences. This technology has been applied in many fields such as ophthalmology and plastic surgery.

China's Intelligent Manufacturing "Medical Breakthrough"

In February 2026, the Liveo™ C6-8XX medical-grade liquid silicone rubber launched by DuPont attracted industry attention, but domestic enterprises have already achieved breakthroughs. A transparent silicone catheter developed by a Shenzhen-based company achieves a 99.9% antibacterial rate by adding silver ions, and its cost is only one-third of that of imported products. "Now 60% of silicone medical devices in domestic top three hospitals use domestic materials," according to data from the China Medical Device Industry Association. From cardiac catheters to artificial joints, from anti-epidemic protection to intelligent drug delivery, liquid silicone rubber is guarding human health in a "silent and subtle" way. With the integration of 3D printing technology, this "transformable medical material" will surely create more miracles of life.

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