[Degree of oxidation and crystallinity of vacuum packaged gamma sterilized ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene]

The oxidation index of a new vacuum-packed and gamma sterilized UHMWPE was determined using infrared spectroscopy, and the crystallinity using differential scanning calorimetry. The CO numbers ranged from 0.053 to 0.154 (mean: 0.098). Crystallinity values ranged between 63.1% and 63.8% (mean: 63.4%). The low oxidation indices reflected the positive effect of vacuum gamma sterilization. What effect the small increase in crystallinity will have in the long run needs to be investigated in further studies.