Oxidation of ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometry.

The effects of processing conditions, sterilization treatment, aging time, and poststerilization aging environment on the oxidation behavior of ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) are examined. Oxidation is monitored by observing changes in the carbonyl peak appearing in Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometry (FTIR) and is found to be relatively insensitive to processing conditions but strongly influenced 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 oxidation than either air or hyaluronic acid. Control (unsterilized) samples and those sterilized in ethylene oxide are resistant to oxidation under all conditions except hydrogen peroxide aging.