Antioxidants

Increasingly, antioxidants are being considered for use in the orthopedic industry.  As one of the early inventors in this field, we have been actively working for over a decade on new uses of antioxidants in biomedical materials.  We were one of the first groups to recognize the value of antioxidants in polyethylene and have since continued an aggressive examination of Vitamin E and other materials for use in this space.  We have extensive research experience in understanding how antioxidants work and what the cost/benefit of each molecule choice is.  It is clear from the research that many molecules will work in delaying or preventing oxidation of polyethylene but secondary effects may govern the suitability of these materials.  For example whether a molecule is miscible with the polymer, or small enough to diffuse freely, may have a strong impact on its performance, and how the antioxidant reacts to radiation may also strongly influence its long-term efficacy; if it gets covalently bound in to the structure, it will result elution and protect against diffusing species.  Thus the details of the molecular are possibly almost as important as the actual antioxidant power. Please see our Biomedical Materials section for more information.