Effects of batch to batch variations and test methodology on degree of crystallinity and melting temperature of UHMW-PE as measured by differential scanning calorimetry
✍ Scribed by Pascaud, R. S. ;Evans, W. T. ;McCullagh, P. J. J. ;FitzPatrick, D.
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1996
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 736 KB
- Volume
- 32
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0021-9304
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✦ Synopsis
The thermal and structural analysis of a total 22 batches from three medical grade ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMW-PE) resins was determined using the DSC method. Batch to batch variations of approximately 5% were obtained for the melting temperature and the degree of crystallinity. The variations correlated both to the changes caused by y-irradiation sterilization and subsequent aging, and to the differences in DSC results obtained from various labora-tories on materials believed to exhibit essentially similar clinical performances.Varying the sample weight from 4.4 to 27.1 mg resulted in a significant relative increase of 5% in the degree of crystallinity. The study shows that the standard double melting/recrystallisation procedure for DSC evaluation produces variations in the melting behaviors of approximately the same magnitude as those indicated by batch lot or sterilization/aging.