M. Goldman et al., OXIDATION OF ULTRAHIGH MOLECULAR-WEIGHT POLYETHYLENE CHARACTERIZED BYFOURIER-TRANSFORM INFRARED SPECTROMETRY, Journal of biomedical materials research, 37(1), 1997, pp. 43-50
The effects of processing conditions, sterilization treatment, aging t
ime, and poststerilization aging environment on the oxidation behavior
of ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) are examined. Oxi
dation is monitored by observing changes in the carbonyl peak appearin
g in Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometry (FTIR) and is found to be
relatively insensitive to processing conditions but strongly influenc
ed by sterilization treatments and aging parameters. Oxygen uptake by
UHMWPE increases as a result of gamma or electron beam irradiation and
continues to rise during subsequent aging at a rate influenced by the
aging environment. A hydrogen peroxide ambient causes more severe oxi
dation than either air or hyaluronic acid. Control (unsterilized) samp
les and those sterilized in ethylene oxide are resistant to oxidation
under all conditions except hydrogen peroxide aging. (C) 1997 John Wil
ey & Sons, Inc.