UHMWPE for Biomedical Applications: Performance and Functionalization

Publication date: Available online 19 January 2020Source: European Polymer JournalAuthor(s): Nikhil Avinash Patil, James Njuguna, Balasubramanian KandasubramanianAbstractAccording to a survey conducted by Grand View Research, the market demand for medical grade UHMWPE has raise remarkably from 60.9 kilotons up to 204.8 kilotons during 2015- 2024 valued at $1.36 billion (USD) with a compound annual growth rate of 15%. There are various materials available for medical implants comprising of metals, ceramics and polymers among them UHMWPE has been used widely. The wide impact of UHMWPE in medical field is due it’s superior biocompatibility, chemical resistance, low wear volume (0.68 mm3), ultimate tensile strength (41.3 MPa), low coefficient of friction [In dry condition (0.12-0.15)] and high crystallinity (more than 90%). However, wear debris, oxidative degradation due to generation of free radicals when subjected to irradiation with gamma rays and low ageing of implant are some critical problems observed in UHMWPE based implants in human body. These severe problems have been resolved using various innovative methodologies to enhance the properties of UHMWPE, comprising of surface modification techniques for pure UHMWPE as well as composite reinforced UHMWPE. The enhancement in properties of pure UHMWPE is achieved using electron beam or atmospheric cold plasma treatment. The reinforced composites are majorly developed by reinforcement of materials such as hydroxyapatite, Mul...
Source: European Polymer Journal - Category: Chemistry Source Type: research