Anisotropy and oxidative resistance of highly crosslinked UHMWPE after deformation processing by solid-state ram extrusion

Solid-state deformation processing is a promising technique for modifying the physical and mechanical properties of highly crosslinked ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) beyond simple thermal treatment cycles that have been employed previously. This study evaluates anisotropy and oxidative resistance in a novel, radiation crosslinked (50 kGy) UHMWPE material (ArComXL: Biomet, Inc., Warsaw, IN), incorporating solid-state, deformation processing by extrusion below the melt transition for application in total hip arthroplasty. Tensile, compression, and small punch tests were conducted to evaluate the material properties in the three principal axes of the resulting material. Furthermore, short-term oxidative resistance was evaluated using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and the small punch test in conjunction with accelerated shelf aging protocols. The results of this testing indicate that the material is anisotropic, with significantly enhanced strength oriented along the long axis of the rod. For certain other properties, the magnitude of the anisotropy was relatively slight, especially in the elastic regime, in which only a 20% difference was noted between the long axis of the rod and the orthogonal, radial direction. The highly crosslinked material contains detectable free radicals, at a concentration that is 90% less than control, gamma inert sterilized UHMWPE. An unexpected finding of this study was evidence of oxidative stability of the deformation-processed material, even after 4 weeks of accelerated aging in a pressure vessel containing five atmospheres of oxygen (ASTM F2003), which resulted in macroscopic embrittlement of the control material. The oxidative stability observed in ArComXL suggests that the deformation-processed material may be suitable for air-permeable packaging and gas sterilization, which has thus far been reserved for remelted highly crosslinked UHMWPE.