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Structural profile of ultra‐high molecular weight polyethylene in acetabular cups worn on hip simulators characterized by confocal Raman spectroscopy
Author(s) -
Puppulin Leonardo,
Kumakura Tsuyoshi,
Yamamoto Kengo,
Pezzotti Giuseppe
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
journal of orthopaedic research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.041
H-Index - 155
eISSN - 1554-527X
pISSN - 0736-0266
DOI - 10.1002/jor.21331
Subject(s) - polyethylene , ultra high molecular weight polyethylene , crystallinity , raman spectroscopy , materials science , composite material , confocal , amorphous solid , optics , chemistry , crystallography , physics
We applied a Raman confocal spectroscopic technique to quantitatively assess the structural features of two kinds of acetabular cups made of ultra‐high molecular weight polyethylene. We wanted to know whether polyethylene cups belonging to different generations, and thus manufactured by different procedures, possess different molecular structures and how those differences affected their wear resistance. Emphasis was placed on oxidation profiles developed along the cross‐sectional depth of the cups in the main wear zone developed during testing in a hip simulator. The micrometric lateral resolution of the laser beam, focused at surface or sub‐surface sectional planes, enabled the visualization of highly resolved microstructural property profiles, including crystalline and amorphous phase fractions. Oxidation profiles retrieved from polyethylene cups belonging to different generations greatly differed after wear testing. The highly cross‐linked polyethylene showed a lower degree of crystallinity and oxidation at an appreciably slower rate as compared to that belonging to an earlier generation. © 2011 Orthopaedic Research Society Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 29:893–899