U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

PUBLICATIONS

Generation of Different UHMWPE Particle Shape by Wear Through Surface Texturing

Published

Author(s)

H. W. Fang, M C. Shen, U Cho, John A. Tesk, A Christou, Stephen M. Hsu

Abstract

Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) wear particles in replaced joints have been linked to biochemical reactions that eventually lead to loosening of prosthesis. Several studies have shown that UHMWPE produces a wide range of particle sizes and shapes under wearing conditions. Whether a particular size or a particular shape has higher bioactivity is not known. From surface energy consideration, small particles in the nm range should be more reactive. From a biological perspective, different shapes may induce different responses. This study aims to develop a method to produce narrowly distributed wear particle of different sizes and shapes so that subsequent study on bioactivity can be carried out. The concept is to use surface texture on the metal counterface to produce desired size and shape under carefully controlled rubbing conditions.
Citation
Society for Biomaterials
Pub Type
Journals

Keywords

(UHMWPE), debris, surface texture, ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene
Ceramics and Biomaterials

Citation

Fang, H. , Shen, M. , Cho, U. , Tesk, J. , Christou, A. and Hsu, S. (1999), Generation of Different UHMWPE Particle Shape by Wear Through Surface Texturing, Society for Biomaterials (Accessed April 24, 2025)

Issues

If you have any questions about this publication or are having problems accessing it, please contact reflib@nist.gov.

Created March 31, 1999, Updated October 12, 2021