Over the past 50 years, Zeus has built a reputation on quality polymer extrusion products for the medical as well as industrial sectors. Our experience with medical device engineers, manufacturers, and clinicians has given us the insight to meet the demands of this ever-evolving industry. Our medically focused products range from catheter componentry, stent encapsulation, bioabsorbable materials, to our Aeos® ePTFE suture monofilament.
Zeus Aeos™ ePTFE extruded products are made by expanding PTFE under controlled conditions during manufacturing. This process alters the physical properties of the material by creating microscopic pores in its structure. The resulting product possesses unique physical properties such as flexibility and strength making it ideal for use in a host of applications where porosity is especially beneficial.
As suture monofilament, Aeos™ ePTFE is a permanently implantable and non-absorbable suture material. These sutures are chemically inert inside the body. Thus, they provoke much less immune response and result in less scarring. While in the body, Aeos™ ePTFE sutures maintain high tensile strength, and their microporous character supports the growth of new tissue into and through individual sutures. Aeos™ sutures are also well-suited to stressful anatomical environments where absorbable sutures are not appropriate.
Aeos™ sutures maintain the soft feel and excellent drape that surgeons prefer. The low surface friction of these sutures allows surgeons to position knots precisely, and the white color of the material provides high visibility. For manufacturability, Aeos™ ePTFE sutures can be swaged onto needles up to a 1:1 ratio of needle-to-suture outer diameter size. Aeos™ suture monofilament is available in bulk quantities as a component allowing you to create your own sutures lines and raise your brand awareness.
Aeos™ ePTFE is fully biocompatible meaning that it is non-toxic and produces no systemic or local adverse responses; this product is also USP Class VI approved. Because of its high working temperature limit (up to 500 °F / 260 °C), Aeos™ sutures easily tolerate autoclaving as well as ETO sterilization protocols.
To learn more about this or any of our other Aeos™ ePTFE products, contact our team or call toll-free in the US 1-800-526-3842 or +1-803-268-9500 internationally.
All Zeus Aeos™ ePTFE products are based on customer specification. The charts below represent a general capability guide with other sizes possible.
For sizing, we have created our own designations which are comparable to USP standards. To achieve the soft feel and drape preferred by clinicians for a given suture knot strength, the diameter of the Zeus ASM is typically larger than that for USP standards due to the difference in diameter measurement methods.* These sutures, however, are equivalent in practical usage.
Zeus Aeos™ ePTFE monofilament sutures are designated ASM proceeded by a number.
Anastomosis – When vessels need to be joined to circumvent damage, clots, or other disruptions in circulation, Aeos™ ePTFE sutures provide a safe and secure means for connecting anastomosed tissue or artificial lumens. These permanently implantable sutures support new tissue growth into the sutures and elicit little to no immune response.
Hernia Repair – Zeus Aeos™ ePTFE sutures are very well-suited for hernia repair to close the abdominal wall either directly or to suture mesh in place. Aeos™ sutures are chemically inert in the body and have the knot strength to endure abdominal wall stresses.
Mitral Valve Repair – For conditions such as mitral regurgitation, Aeos™ ePTFE sutures provide and excellent option to repair or replace the heart’s stretched, damaged, or broken chordae tendineae and restore the valve’s one-way blood flow. Aeos™ sutures can remain in the body permanently.
Stent Deployment – Aeos™ ePTFE sutures are an excellent option to aid in the deployment of stents. Wrapped around an expandable stent, the high lubricity of Aeos™ sutures allows them to be smoothly pulled through the stent delivery system releasing the stent for final placement.
Vascular Stent Graft Suturing – For covered stents, or stent grafts, Aeos™ ePTFE sutures provide an optimal means of suturing the graft material to the wire frame of the stent. Aeos™ sutures’ high knot strength and microporous structure make them especially amenable for use with permanently implantable devices.
Biocompatible – PTFE is well-documented in the medical field for its biocompatibility. This non-toxic material is USP Class VI approved and Zeus holds hold USP Class VI certification for our PTFE resins. We likewise have performed independent testing confirming biocompatibility of our PTFE.
Chemically Resistant – Aeos™ ePTFE suture monofilament is resistant to all commonly encountered chemicals and is inert in the body.
Excellent Drape – Zeus uses a proprietary processing to expand PTFE to produce a suture with the lay or drape that surgeons seek while maintaining a soft feel and high knot strength.
Excellent UV Resistance – Aeos™ ePTFE’s resistance to UV means that this material can be sterilized under UV light.
Implantable – The unique and microporous structure of Aeos™ ePTFE monofilament make this material particularly suited to applications requiring cell growth. Aeos™ ePTFE sutures are intended for applications requiring permanently implantable and non-absorbable sutures because of their minimal associated inflammatory response. ePTFE is well-known material from medical literature for its endothelization and thrombogenic properties and has long been utilized for implantable medical devices because of its long-standing track record of biocompatibility.
High Knot Strength – This specialized material is very strong given its soft and flexible nature to provide superior knot strength without sacrificing the soft feel and drape preferred by surgeons.
High Temperature – Aeos™ ePTFE sutures can easily withstand autoclave procedures at temperatures up to 500 °F (260 °C). For potential low temperature storage of tissues, Aeos™ ePTFE sutures retain functionality at temperatures as low as -328 °F (-200 °C).
Low Coefficient Of Friction – The low coefficient of friction of Aeos™ ePTFE monofilament allows surgeons to place knots with precision shortening surgical time.
Microporous – Aeos™ ePTFE microporosity provides a unique combination of flexibility and strength with a structure that is amenable to new tissue growth into individual sutures. These traits make Aeos™ sutures particularly well-suited for permanent implantation.
**For non-sterile Class 1 sutures, the limits of knot pull tensile strength for ASM are 25% higher than those for similar sizes shown on USP sizing and knot strength chart.
| Zeus Suture Mono Size | Mean Diameter Zeus Suture | Suture Monofilament Knot-Pull Tensile Strength (lbf)* | Description; Aeos™ ePTFE; Suture Monofilament; Natural; RPL-LLP-Spool; |
| Zuture 5 | 0.0080 | ≥ 1.1 | *; 0.0080 +0.0015 / -0.0005; *; ZUSP 5-0 (REF.); DEV; |
| Zuture 4 | 0.0125 | ≥ 1.65 | *; 0.0125 +0.001 / -0.0005; *; ;ZUSP 4-0 (REF.); DEV; |
| Zuture 3 | 0.0155 | ≥ 2.65 | *; 0.0155 +0.001 / -0.0005; *; ZUSP 3-0 (REF.); DEV; |
| Zuture 2 | 0.0200 | ≥ 3.97 | *; 0.0200 +0.001 / -0.0005; *; ZUSP 2-0 (REF.); DEV; |
| Zuture 0 | 0.0240 | ≥ 5.95 | *; 0.0240 +0.001 / -0.0005; *; ZUSP 0 (REF.); DEV; |
| Zuture 1 | 0.0300 | ≥ 7.5 | *; 0.0300 ± 0.001; *; ZUSP 1 (REF.); DEV; |
| * For non-sterile Sutures of Class 1, the limits for knot pull tensile strength are 25% higher than listed on USP chart. | |||
| USP Size | USP Diameter (in) | USP Non-Sterile Limits on Average Knot-Pull Strength (lbf)* | |
| Min. | Max. | ||
| 5-0 | 0.0039 | 0.0059 | 1.10 |
| 4-0 | 0.0059 | 0.0078 | 1.65 |
| 3-0 | 0.0079 | 0.0098 | 2.65 |
| 2-0 | 0.0118 | 0.0133 | 3.97 |
| 0 | 0.0138 | 0.0157 | 5.95 |
| 1 | 0.0157 | 0.0196 | 7.50 |
| * For non-sterile Sutures of Class 1, the limits for knot pull tensile strength are 25 % higher than listed on USP chart. | |||