A study of free radicals in irradiated/aged UHMWPE materials

Author

Thomas, D.E. ; Jahan, M.S. ; Trieu, H.H. ; Haggard, W.O. ; Conta, R.L. ; Parr, J.E.

Author_Institution

Dept. of Phys., Memphis Univ., TN, USA

fYear

1996

fDate

29-31 Mar 1996

Firstpage

207

Lastpage

209

Abstract

UHMWPE bar stock, resin powder and fibers that were irradiated with an electron beam and then stored in air for three years were investigated for long-lived free radicals. Significant concentrations of free radicals were found in all UHMWPE materials. Peroxy radicals are predominant in the UHMWPE materials that are highly accessible to oxygen, while more primary radicals remain in the UHMWPE materials that are isolated from oxygen. Based on this study, it is expected that irradiation of UHMWPE in an inert environment would result in long-lived primary radicals, which could be a potential cause of long-term oxidation. Furthermore, a highly crystalline UHMWPE may be more susceptible to long-term oxidation as more free radicals can be trapped in crystalline regions

Keywords

ageing; electron beam applications; free radicals; oxidation; paramagnetic resonance; polymers; prosthetics; radiation chemistry; 3 year; ESR spectra; UHMWPE bar stock; aged UHMWPE materials; air; crystalline regions; electron beam; fibers; free radicals; highly crystalline UHMWPE; inert environment; irradiated UHMWPE materials; long-lived free radicals; long-term oxidation; oxygen; peroxy radicals; polyethylene; primary radicals; resin powder; total joint arthroplasty; Aging; Crystalline materials; Crystallization; Electron beams; Gamma rays; Oxidation; Paramagnetic resonance; Polyethylene; Powders; Resins;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Biomedical Engineering Conference, 1996., Proceedings of the 1996 Fifteenth Southern

Conference_Location

Dayton, OH

Print_ISBN

0-7803-3131-1

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/SBEC.1996.493150

Filename

493150