DuPont Licenses New Monomer Material to GC Corporation to Develop Next Generation Dental Composite Technology

WILMINGTON, Del., Aug. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- DuPont today announced it has signed an agreement with GC Corporation of Tokyo, Japan, a major global manufacturer of dental materials and equipment, to provide next-generation dental monomer technology that reduces the shrinkage of dental composites. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

"GC Corporation offers outstanding performance in dental composites that have superior function, quality and aesthetics," Shoji Akahane, GC Corporation director of Research and Development, said. "We believe that the combination of the DuPont monomer technology with our company's dental composite expertise has resulted in the development of a superior and innovative dental composite resin for the global market."

The DuPont technology is uniquely tunable, offering the ability to optimize dental composites to offer enhanced properties including higher flex strength and fracture toughness, and better handling while enabling reduced shrinkage. DuPont will license the technology and branding of the product.

"Until now, advances in dental composites technology have focused on creating better fillers and great progress has been made," Randy Milby, DuPont BioMedical global business director, said. "DuPont identified a unique opportunity to bring our science to bear on improvements that could incorporate our proprietary materials technology to the monomer side of the composite. These new monomers represent a significant step-change in dental composite technology. We are pleased to partner with GC Corporation -- a company we believe will deliver this technology for widespread use by dentists throughout the world."

Since its establishment in 1921, GC Corporation has constantly sought to make a contribution to dental care. GC is one of the world's leading manufacturers of dental products, offering outstanding dental composites for aesthetic dentistry. GC Corporation's dental products excel in quality, providing leading-edge technology to the dental industry. GC was awarded the Deming Prize for business practice excellence and the Japan Quality Medal for its quality management system.

The DuPont BioMedical business targets transformative products for the medical device industry that can significantly increase a patient's quality of life and best assure clinical success. The unique products being developed improve efficacy, recovery times, and minimize the invasiveness of surgical procedures. They are designed to be tunable and can be used in multiple applications.

DuPont is a science-based products and services company. Founded in 1802, DuPont puts science to work by creating sustainable solutions essential to a better, safer, healthier life for people everywhere. Operating in more than 70 countries, DuPont offers a wide range of innovative products and services for markets including agriculture and food; building and construction; communications; and transportation.