Degradation of Polymeric Biomaterials

Authors

Shalaby W. Shalaby, Clemson University
Russell A. Johnson, Clemson University
Meng Deng, Clemson University

Abstract

Environmental and processing factors affecting the biostability of medical devices made from traditionally "stable" polymers, such as isotactic polypropylene (PP) and ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMW-PE) , were analyzed and their undesirable degradation was related to performance of typical medical devices. Among the critical phenomena determining the biological performance of UHMW-PE and PP devices are oxidation during melt-processing and the propensity of the polymer chains to radiolyse and radio-oxidize. Polyesters and their biomedical devices , which can be designed to degrade predictably, are addressed with some focus on the less obvious determinants of performance.

Recommended Citation

Shalaby, Shalaby W.; Johnson, Russell A.; and Deng, Meng (1993) "Degradation of Polymeric Biomaterials," Cells and Materials: Vol. 3: No. 4, Article 9.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cellsandmaterials/vol3/iss4/9