Polycarbonate (PC) is among the fastest growing plastics in the medical device and packaging field, largely due to a favorable combination of cost and performance factors. Typical properties of PC that give them an advantage in the healthcare industry include great strength, toughness, rigidity and resistance to rigorous sterilization conditions. The high clarity of PC is also a boon in many medical applications.

PC is not the most widely used plastic in medical products. That distinction belongs to PVC, PE, PP and polystyrene. However, engineering thermoplastics such as PC offers levels of heat and radiation resistance that PVC and other commonly used medical plastics cannot match. The strength and chemical inertness of PC makes it useful for tools used in minimally invasive surgery, a field that is expanding rapidly. PC also costs less than other high-performance engineering plastics used in medicine, such as polysulfone and polyetheretherketone.

The current market for PC in the medical sector is about 75,000 tpa. PC is commonly found in dialysis filter membranes, surgical instrument handles and the housings of blood oxygenators, which are used during open-heart surgery. The manifolds and stopcocks of intravenous connectors are frequently made of polycarbonates, as are needle-free injection systems, perfusion equipment and blood reservoirs. PC is also used in trocars (long tubes) and retractors employed in endoscopic surgery.
Blends of PC with other polymers, particularly ABS and polyester, find wide use in the housings of many medical instruments. The blends combine the strength and rigidity of PC with the high-flow properties of ABS, or the chemical resistance of polyesters.
Packaging for medical devices is often fabricated from thermoformed PC film. Such films allow the package and its contents to be sterilized together by exposure to radiation.
Emerging applications of PC include inhalers for the consumer market, ophthalmic products, orthopedic materials, and "lab-on-a-chip" devices for determining blood chemistry or analyzing proteins.

Key properties responsible for usage of PC in health sector
PC medical products can be sterilized with ethylene oxide, gamma radiation, electron beam radiation and steam autoclaves. Polycarbonates have a high degree of dimensional stability, which makes them valuable for medical tubing connectors, where tight fits are essential. The high transparency of polycarbonates is an asset in any medical devices where visual monitoring of blood or other biological fluids is necessary. High fracture strength and toughness are other properties of polycarbonates that make them helpful as delicate probes used in non-invasive surgical procedures.
PC is generally biocompatible, but device manufacturers who want to use PC for new tissue or blood contact applications must conduct biocompatibility tests in compliance with government regulations. Certain commercial grades of polycarbonates are certified to meet specified biocompatibility standards such as ISO 10993-1. Standard grades of PC for medical devices can be steam autoclaved at temperatures up to 121º C. (Temperatures above this level can warp or distort the devices) But faster steam autoclaving processes have recently been developed that require even higher temperatures. To meet this demand, suppliers have introduced special PC grades that can be autoclaved at temperatures as high as 134º C. Multiple autoclaving of PC devices is not generally recommended, but some manufacturers now offer PC grades that are able to be autoclaved more than once.
PC does not become embrittled when exposed to the gamma rays and electron beams used in radiation sterilization. Competing materials such as Teflon, rubber, PU and PP do not stand up as well to radiation. However, PC does tend to yellow upon exposure to radiation. This can be a problem when clear and transparent windows are required in a medical device.

To counteract the discoloration problem, polycarbonate producers have employed additives that absorb the radiation, thus preventing the cascade of chemical reactions that lead to polymer degradation. Another approach has been to market grades of PC that are inherently radiation stable and therefore do not require additives.
Fats and oils (lipids) attack polycarbonates, causing stress cracking. This is a potential problem because more and more intravenous solutions contain lipid-based emulsions of drugs. To address this issue, suppliers have introduced lipid-resistant PC grades. Intended markets for these recent entries are mostly IV equipment such as stopcocks and connectors

High-flow PC grades have recently been unveiled for the medical market, with the aim of increasing the output by converters. Standard PC grades for medical molding have a melt-flow rate (MFR) in the 5-15 g/10 min. range. The new high-flow grades have a MFR in the 20-37-g/10 min. area. The high flow has traditionally been achieved with the use of additives. Some newer polycarbonates exhibit enhanced flow without additives, relying instead on proprietary copolymer formulations. Also making an appearance in recent years have been easy mould release PC grades. These products contain internal mould-release agents that make it unnecessary to spray release agents into the mold. Such agents can contaminate the moulded part and must be regularly cleaned away, which extends production cycles and adds to costs. PC for medical applications can be processed by all the standard techniques: injection moulding, extrusion, blow moulding and thermoforming.