Structure and Properties of the Surface Layer of Components of Gelled Ultrahigh Molecular Weight Polyethylene

Abstract

Experience of using practically all constructional thermoplastics (polyethylene, polyamides, Lavsan polyester fibre, fluoroplastics, etc.) in orthopaedics has shown that the only polymeric material to perform reliably in the friction pairs of joint endoprostheses is ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) which, as far back as the 1960s, was officially certified and introduced into surgical practice by J. Charnley. The artificial hip joints designed by Charnley showed endoprosthetic results that remain unsurpassed to this day [1]. However, attempts to improve the structure and properties of the polymeric friction material of endoprostheses are continuing [2-4]. A variant of the modification of UHMWPE components, consisting in the formation of a microporous transition layer based on UHMWPE gels and process liquids combined with UHMWPE on the friction surface, is proposed in [5] to [8], while certain technological aspects of the formation of the cartilage-modelling microporous structure of such a layer are presented in [9].