The effect of real-time aging on the oxidation and wear of highly cross-linked UHMWPE acetabular liners

Irradiation decreases the wear of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) but generates residual free radicals, precursors to long-term oxidation. Melting or annealing is used in quenching free radicals. We hypothesized that irradiated and once-annealed UHMWPE would oxidize while irradiate...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biomaterials 2006-03, Vol.27 (9), p.1980-1987
Main Authors: Wannomae, Keith K., Christensen, Steven D., Freiberg, Andrew A., Bhattacharyya, Shayan, Harris, William H., Muratoglu, Orhun Kamil
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acetabular component
Acetabulum - anatomy & histology
Biocompatible Materials - chemistry
Biocompatible Materials - radiation effects
Biodegradation, Environmental
Free radical
Highly cross-linked polyethylene
Hip Prosthesis
Humans
Materials Testing
Oxidation
Oxidation-Reduction
Polyethylenes - chemistry
Polyethylenes - radiation effects
Time Factors
Wear
X-Rays
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Summary:Irradiation decreases the wear of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) but generates residual free radicals, precursors to long-term oxidation. Melting or annealing is used in quenching free radicals. We hypothesized that irradiated and once-annealed UHMWPE would oxidize while irradiated and melted UHMWPE would not, and that the oxidation in the former would increase wear. Acetabular liners were real-time aged by immersion in an aqueous environment that closely mimicked the temperature and oxygen concentration of synovial fluid. After 95 weeks of real-time aging, once-annealed components were oxidized; the melted components were not. The wear rate of the real-time aged irradiated and once-annealed components was higher than the literature reported values of other contemporary highly cross-linked UHMWPEs. Single annealing after irradiation used with terminal gamma sterilization may adversely affect the long-term oxidative stability of UHMWPE components.
ISSN:0142-9612
1878-5905
DOI:10.1016/j.biomaterials.2005.10.002