Uni- and multidirectional wear resistance of different crosslinking degrees in UHMWPE for artificial joints

Abstract

The aim of this work was to study the effect of UHMWPE crosslinking on wear performance. Differently treated UHMWPEs were studied by means of unidirectional and multidirectional wear tests. Unidirectional tests simulate total knee replacement and multidirectional tests simulate total hip replacement movements. The samples tested were observed by optical and scanning electron microscopy in order to determine wear mechanisms that explain the dif-ferent results obtained in the uni- and multidirectional wear tests performed.