Evaluating the durability of UHMWPE biomaterials used for articulating surfaces of joint arthroplasty using delamination tests

Abstract Ultra‐high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) is the most popular material used for the articulating surface of joint replacements. Delamination is a common fatigue‐related failure mode in UHMWPE components; however, the relationship between delamination resistance and fatigue crack growth has not been reported. Here, the delamination resistance of contemporary UHMWPE materials, including highly cross‐linked UHMWPE (HXLPE), vitamin E blended UHMWPE (VEPE), and vitamin E blended HXLPE (VEXLPE), was measured to verify a previously proposed accelerated test method using a U‐shaped sliding motion; the results were compared with those of fatigue crack growth tests. The oxidative stability of each material was estimated using Fourier transform infrared analysis. UHMWPE sterilized by gamma irradiation in an inert atmosphere and annealed HXLPE had lower delamination resistance than virgin UHMWPE after artificial aging. This was consistent with previous findings from retrieval studies, and in vitro knee simulator and ball‐on‐flat unidirectional reciprocation wear studies. In contrast, remelted HXLPE, VEPE, and VEXLPE showed excellent delamination resistance after artificial aging. The results of the delamination tests were not consistent with those of fatigue crack growth tests, indicating the complex delamination mechanism and importance of evaluating these factors separately. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 107B: 65–72, 2019.