PEEK Life Science Grade Rod

Life Science Grade PEEK is unfilled PEEK in which both the resin and the finished stock shape have been pre-assessed for biocompatibility - which matters, because extrusion and machining can introduce contamination that a resin certificate would never catch. Testing covers ISO 10993 cytotoxicity, sensitisation, intracutaneous reactivity, acute systemic toxicity and human blood compatibility, plus the USP physicochemical and implantation tests, and USP Class VI is achieved through three of them. Origin is animal-free, traceability runs from resin to bar, and it sterilises by steam, dry heat, ethylene oxide, plasma, gamma and X-ray.

It is machined into bioprocessing wetted parts, short-contact surgical instruments and drug and blood handling components - anywhere a quality system needs the shape tested rather than just the resin. Tensile strength is 16,700 psi at yield on a 624,000 psi modulus, flexural strength 24,700 psi, hardness Rockwell M105 and heat deflection 320F. Three limits to respect: body or tissue contact is assessed to under 24 hours and it is not for permanent implants; approvals vary by colour, so the approval follows the colour you order; and the life science grades gain USP Class VI but lose the FDA food-contact status that standard PEEK carries - they are not supersets of each other.