VESTAKEEP® PEEK Polymers for Medical Applications

Evonik Industries, Essen, Germany is presenting its entire portfolio of VESTAKEEP^® PEEK products, suitable for both short-term and long-term body contact, at MedTec Europe in Stuttgart between March 23 and 25. The products are available in powder form and as granules, films, sheets, and solid rods.

VESTAKEEP^® is available in two viscosities in two different grades. For medical applications suitable for short-term body contact, Evonik offers the medium-viscosity compound VESTAKEEP^® M2G, the high-viscosity variant VESTAKEEP^® M4G, and the VESTAKEEP^® M4P powder grade.

VESTAKEEP^® I2G and I4G granules and I2P powder are available for long-term contact with body tissues, as occurs with implants. A device master file for these grades has been deposited with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Dr. Herbert Groothues, responsible for quality processes for VESTAKEEP^®, says: “In extensive documentation we have presented in detail the outstanding product properties of the VESTAKEEP^® I series and the controlled process flows of its production. This considerably simplifies the approval of products made from these polymers for our U.S. customers.”

Evonik also produces crystalline as well as amorphous VESTAKEEP^® PEEK film for medical applications. The films have high chemical resistance and mechanical strength; they are flame resistant and stable even at high continuous working temperatures and have excellent tribological and electrical properties.

Jointly with its partners, Evonik also supplies sheet products of VESTAKEEP I grades. With the solid rods and sheets on offer, the market for machined forms is thus well served.

Evonik has been successfully producing and marketing high-performance polymers for more than 40 years, and is highly valued in the market for its experience in application technology. The company has successfully applied its expertise in injection molding, extrusion, compression molding, and CAE (Computer Aided Engineering) analysis to the VESTAKEEP^® molding compounds, which were introduced into the product portfolio in 2007 and made available to Evonik’s newly acquired development partners. The collaboration is designed on the basis of a long-term partnership, which also allows for fairly long accreditation periods.