EFFECT OF ANNEALING TEMPERATURE ON MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF VITAMIN-E BLENDED UHMWPE

IntroductionDl-α-Tocopherol (VE)-blended non-crosslinked UHMWPE has been developed as a bearing surface material for knee prostheses due to the radical scavenging capabilities of vitamin E and has demonstrated a low wear rate in knee simulator testing [1,2]. In previous our study, VE-blended, crosslinked UHMWPE has demonstrated a low wear rate in hip simulator testing [3, 4]. As the radical scavenging capabilities also reduce the crosslinking degree of the material, multiple dose crosslinking has been investigated. However, these crosslinked UHMWPE materials may have different mechanical properties, as each crosslinking process, especially the annealing condition, is different. Additionally, there is little information about VE-blended, crosslinked UHMWPE with different annealing conditions. In this study, the effect of annealing temperature was investigated with regard to tensile strength, crosslink density, and crystallinity of VE blended, crosslinked UHMWPE.MethodVE blended samples were manufactured vi...