Ph. Vallotton et al., COMPARISON OF MEDICAL-GRADE ULTRAHIGH MOLECULAR-WEIGHT POLYETHYLENE MICROSTRUCTURE BY ATOMIC-FORCE MICROSCOPY AND TRANSMISSION ELECTRON-MICROSCOPY, Journal of biomaterials science. Polymer ed., 6(7), 1994, pp. 609-620
Atomic force microscopy is used to image the topography of surfaces of
bulk medical-grade ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE).
Comparison with transmission electron microscopy images demonstrates t
hat the AFM can resolve the plate-like stacks of crystalline lamellae
characteristic of UHMWPE without aggressive surface treatment. Surface
preparation for the AFM must be carried out by cryomicrotomy at extre
mely low temperatures to prevent smearing of surface features. Chemica
lly-etched surfaces of UHMWPE require substantially less surface prepa
ration for AFM imaging.