Patent ID: 8586667
Filing Date: 2013-11-19
Classification: C08J,C08K,C08L

Abstract:
1. A method for fabricating an oxidation resistant UHMWPE material comprising: mixing a quantity of an additive material, comprising at least an antioxidant or a radical scavenger with a UHMWPE powder; moulding the mixture of UHMWPE powder and additive material to create a preform by applying a temperature above the melting point of the UHMWPE powder; and irradiating the preform in air under ambient atmospheric conditions with radiation comprising at least gamma or electron beam radiation at a dose of between about 2 and about 20 MRad; wherein the irradiated preform with the additive material has a free radical content which is greater than the gamma-sterilized standard UHMWPE material without the additive material and has an oxidation index after artificial ageing that is the same or lower than that of gamma-sterilized standard UHMWPE material without the additive material; and wherein the additive material comprises at least one of a flavonoid and an amino acid based compound, and wherein the flavonoid is selected from the group consisting of naringenin, hesperitin and luteolin, and the amino acid based compound is selected from the group consisting of cvstein, glutathione, tyrosine and tryptophan.