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December 13, 2012

A peek at PEEK


On September 25-26, 2013, an international symposium on polyetherether ketone (PEEK) will be held at Drexel University. PEEK is finding increasing use in the biomedical community, particularly in the area of permanent implants. Spinal implants have been composed of PEEK for several years, finding use as stabilization rods, spacers, and articulating surfaces.

Characterization of PEEK has received increasing attention as a consequence. This material has unusual crystallization behavior, and the method of analysis can lead to different results. In a paper written by researchers from Cambridge Polymer Group, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Stryker "Macromolecular and Morphological Characterization of Medical Grade PEEK", we describe 4 methods to measure crystallinity in PEEK (X-ray, DSC, density, and FTIR), and compare the results of multiple grades of PEEK.


Details on the conference