COP is formed by ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) of cyclic olefin monomers such as norbornene, followed by partial or total hydrogenation.

Though they share many of the same physical properties, cyclic olefin polymer (COP) formed by ROMP offers greater transparency and mechanical stability[1] and its surface is more amenable to plasma treatment for optimizing cell growth.

COP is gaining adoption in medical, pharmaceutical and life science applications by replacing or being used in combination with other materials, yielding superior products.

There is no risk of pH shift from released alkali ions as there is in glass containers making it suitable for long-term storage of sensitive pharmaceuticals such as protein- or peptide-based drugs.

COP has excellent dimensional stability and can reproducibly replicate micron-sized features of microfluidic devices and diagnostics with high aspect ratios.