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Contract Lab Services

SGS PSI provides contract lab services to clients in the United States, Canada, and in other worldwide locations. SGS PSI is ISO 17025 accredited, and FDA registered.

Independent Contract Testing Laboratory
As an independent testing lab, we provide a diverse range of chemical and physical testing options across a wide range of industries and applications. SGS PSI provides analytical testing at all stages of production, whether investigating existing product characterization or aiding in new product development. We are hired to test materials for a variety of reasons, including:

  • Safety regulatory compliance
  • Manufacturing concerns, and process improvement such as scaling up production
  • Strength testing, including flexibility, durability, and longevity
  • Failure testing
  • Deformulation testing

Contract Lab Certifications
We hold the following accreditations and certifications:

  • ISO 17025 accreditation
  • FDA registration
  • GMP compliance
  • DEA license

Contract Lab Services
SGS PSI’s contract testing lab has more than 35 years of experience delivering a wide range of polymer, plastic and materials testing as well as chemical analysis including:

  • Extractables and leachables testing, solvent extractions, and residual monomer and residual solvent analysis
  • Polymer analysis and characterization
  • Polymer structure analysis
  • Aging and chemical resistance testing
  • Chemical and thermal digestions
  • Analysis of filler content, additives and phthalates
  • Coatings and film layer analysis
  • PEEK derivatization

The packaging industry also benefits from our services that include contamination analysis and film layer analysis. In addition, we provide medical device and medical products testing, pharmaceutical testing, and analysis of associated packaging. For projects that involve a truly out-of-the-box solution, custom fixtures can be developed using our on-site instrumentation.

Contract Lab for Physical Testing
Polymers have complex physical characteristics depending on their composition, length of the polymer chains, and amount of additives. Altering these parameters allows scientists to change the polymer’s physical properties. SGS PSI can test materials to equip you with the detailed information necessary to proceed with design solutions.

SGS PSI offers the following physical testing services:

  • Compression testing
  • Depth profiling and surface analysis
  • Durometer testing
  • Embrittlement testing
  • Failure analysis
  • Flexural testing
  • Fractography
  • Rockwell hardness C and B
  • Specific gravity and density determination
  • Stress testing
  • Tensile testing
  • Viscosity testing (Brookfield and dilute solution)

Thermal testing provides an understanding of how a sample will behave relative to temperature extremes and thermal transitions. Our thermal testing services include:

  • Differential scanning calorimetry
  • Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA)
  • Melt Flow Index testing (MFI)
  • Rheology testing
  • Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA)

Microscopy testing allows an extreme close-up on otherwise invisible structures. Modern electron microscopy methods are indispensable for biological, medical, material science, nanotechnological, and electronic applications. Microscopy is particularly important to ensure quality control of packaging, as it is used for applications such as film layer analysis and contamination analysis.

Our contract lab offers the following analytical testing services:

  • Scanning electron microscopy (SEM)
  • SEM with energy dispersive spectroscopy
  • Atomic force microscopy (AFM)
  • Microscopy image analysis
  • Optical microscopy (OM)
  • Optical birefringence analysis
  • Transmission electron microscopy (TEM)

Contract Lab for Chemical Testing
The contract laboratory services that SGS PSI provides include a variety of chemical testing and analysis services. For example, manufacturers hire us to ensure quality control, determine chemical identification, and analyze volatile odors.

Determining the chemical structure of a sample can unlock multiple mysteries. Our analytical laboratory uses chemical analysis to evaluate everything from the safety of edible polymers on pharmaceuticals to advanced materials used in complex packaging. Our services are even used to determine patent infringement. In this regard, we also offer litigation support.

Our chemical analysis services include:

  • Polymer structure analysis
  • Molecular weight analysis
  • Coating analysis
  • Phthalates analysis
  • Embrittlement testing
  • Polymer characterization
  • RoHS testing
  • Filler content analysis
  • Heavy metal testing
  • Wet chemistry analysis
  • Additives analysis

Chromatography testing separates and identifies ingredients in complex chemical combinations. Chromatography determines the number of components in polymer products and analyzes their molecular weight distribution. Another common application is purification. Chromatography can detect individual components in the bulk product of chemical synthesis.

Our contract lab provides the following chromatography testing:

  • Gas chromatography
  • Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS)
  • Headspace GC/MS
  • High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)
  • Size exclusion chromatography/gel permeation chromatography (SEC/GPC)
  • Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HRAM QTOF LCMS)

Various spectroscopic methods are used to determine the chemical composition, degradation, or structure of a material. Spectroscopical methods vary in complexity and are classified according to the nature of radiated energy the sample material provides.

Some of the spectroscopic methods we use include:

  • Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR)
  • Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR)
  • Energy dispersive spectroscopy
  • Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS)
  • Headspace GC/MS
  • Inductively coupled plasma analysis (ICP)
  • Scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy
  • UV-visible spectroscopy
  • X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF)
  • X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy