Tradeoffs amongst fatigue, wear, and oxidation resistance of cross-linked ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene.

This study evaluated the tradeoffs amongst fatigue crack propagation resistance, wear resistance, and oxidative stability in a wide variety of clinically-relevant cross-linked ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene. Highly cross-linked re-melted materials showed good oxidation and wear performance, but diminished fatigue crack propagation resistance. Highly cross-linked annealed materials showed good wear and fatigue performance, but poor oxidation resistance.