Filtration Products & Capabilities: Frequently Asked Questions

Choosing the right filter material depends on many factors, including what is being filtered, the required sterility level, chemical and regulatory compatibility of the filter material, and device architecture, to name a few. Saint-Gobain Medical has an extensive library of filter materials for medical filtration, including PES, PTFE, and polyethylene membranes, nonwoven polypropylene and glass fiber, woven screen mesh, and many more. Our engineers help you match the filter material to your performance, chemical compatibility, and regulatory needs.

The choice between hydrophilic and hydrophobic materials depends on your application and what you need the filter to do. Hydrophobic (water-fearing) membranes are ideal for air and venting, while hydrophilic (water-loving) membranes are best for liquids. Saint-Gobain helps you determine the right choice based on flow, wetting behavior, and device function, and we can tune pore size, filtration surface area (EFA), and support layers to optimize performance.

Most sterile applications use 0.2 µm or smaller pore size, but not all 0.2 µm filter materials are sterilizing grade, and your actual requirement depends on organism load, viscosity, and flow constraints. Our sterilizing grade filters have undergone bacterial challenge tests (BCT), such as those in ASTM F838, that prove their retention of bacteria. 

Saint-Gobain designs filters specifically for your sterilization requirements, with materials validated for EtO, gamma, autoclave, or steam sterilization. We provide full data packages and can tailor membrane/support combinations to withstand your preferred sterilization process. 

Pressure drop is affected by membrane surface area, pore structure, fluid viscosity, and flow rate. We use our testing data and can replicate your application in our lab to test filter prototypes and provide real-world results.

Often, the issue can be traced back to either insufficient filtration surface area (EFA) or sub-optimal filter material and pore size choice. We diagnose the root cause and work with you to redesign the filter, adjusting the filter material, pore size and structure, number of filter layers, or filtration surface area to deliver the flow your device requires without compromising retention.

Most often, yes, and Saint-Gobain provides fully validated, medical-grade materials with complete biocompatibility documentation. Our regulatory team supports your submission with extractables/leachable data, sterilization validation, and traceability documentation.

We supply material certifications, change-control transparency, validation reports, and quality system documentation aligned with FDA and EU MDR expectations. Our white glove support ensures your regulatory pathway is smooth and predictable.

Saint-Gobain specializes in helping to design filters that work with your device architecture, matching connection types, footprint, flow path, and mechanical constraints. We help you avoid common integration pitfalls, reduce assembly complexity, and ensure manufacturability at scale.

Absolutely. Customization is one of our core strengths. We tailor membrane type, pore size, housing geometry, inlet and outlet configuration, and sterilization compatibility to your exact needs, something most competitors simply don’t offer. We can even create entirely new filter designs that go beyond the standard disc, cartridge, or capsule form factor. 

Every application has unique flow, sterility, and chemical-exposure requirements. The Saint-Gobain team has deep experience across respiratory, endoscope reprocessing, diagnostics, organ preservation, and many other medical devices, and we guide you to the right filter design for your specific use case.

Every Saint-Gobain Medical filter is tested during production to ensure no defects allow contaminants such as bacteria (for sterilizing grade filters) to pass through.

Our filters are manufactured in facilities that operate under fully certified ISO 13485 and ISO 9001 quality management systems and are FDA-registered for medical-grade manufacturing. The facilities follow strict GMP principles, maintain full material traceability, and use controlled, validated processes. 

Generally, no. Air and liquid filtration require different membrane chemistries and structures. Saint-Gobain helps you select the right hydrophobic or hydrophilic membrane and can design dual function assemblies if your device requires both.

Vent filters protect sterile pathways from airborne contamination and equalize pressure. We provide high-efficiency hydrophobic PTFE or PE vents with low pressure drop for medical housings.