Investigation of long-lived free radicals in shelf-aged UHMWPE tibial liners

Author

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

Author_Institution

Res. & Dev., Wright Med. Technol. Inc., Arlington, TN, USA

fYear

1997

fDate

4-6 Apr 1997

Firstpage

79

Lastpage

83

Abstract

UHMWPE used in total joint arthroplasty has commonly been sterilized by gamma radiation. Irradiation and subsequent aging in air reportedly cause extensive oxidation and, thus, adversely affect this material. Long-lived free radicals in gamma-sterilized/shelf-aged UHMWPE tibial inserts were investigated in this study. Significant concentrations of peroxy and primary radicals were found in the surface layer and the core region, respectively. Based on this study, it is expected that ir radiation of UHMWPE in an inert environment would result in long-lived primary radicals, which could be a potential cause of long-term oxidation

Keywords

bone; free radicals; prosthetics; artifical joints; extensive oxidation; gamma-sterilized UHMWPE tibial inserts; inert environment; long-lived free radicals; long-term oxidation cause; peroxy radicals; primary radicals; prosthetic implants; shelf-aged UHMWPE tibial liners; total joint arthroplasty; Aging; Gamma rays; Immune system; Implants; Material storage; Oxidation; Paramagnetic resonance; Physics; Polyethylene; Research and development;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Biomedical Engineering Conference, 1997., Proceedings of the 1997 Sixteenth Southern

Conference_Location

Biloxi, MS

ISSN

1086-4105

Print_ISBN

0-7803-3869-3

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/SBEC.1997.583219

Filename

583219