Detailed Description
The following description of the embodiments of the present invention will be made clearly and completely, and it is apparent that the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, but not all embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be made by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the invention without making any inventive effort, are intended to be within the scope of the invention.
The invention provides an antioxidant gradient cross-linked polyethylene material, which is prepared by filling polyethylene mixture powder into a mold, sintering, demolding and irradiating with electron beams.
The polyethylene mixture powder comprises first mixed powder and second mixed powder, wherein the first mixed powder is mixed powder of polyethylene and Vitamin E (VE), and the second mixed powder is mixed powder of polyethylene and Gallic Acid (GA); the number average molecular weight of the polyethylene is preferably more than or equal to 1000kDa, more preferably 5000-20000 kDa, and particularly 10000-13000 kDa; the mass ratio of polyethylene to vitamin E in the first mixed powder is preferably (50-10000): 1, more preferably (500 to 3000): 1 may specifically be 500:1, 600:1, 700:1, 800:1, 900:1, 1000:1, 1100:1, 1200:1, 1300:1, 1400:1, 1500:1, 1600:1, 1700:1, 1800:1, 1900:1, 2000:1, 2100:1, 2200:1, 2300:1, 2400:1, 2500:1, 2600:1, 2700:1, 2800:1, 2900:1, or 3000:1; the mass ratio of polyethylene to gallic acid in the second mixed powder is preferably (50-10000): 1, more preferably (500 to 3000): 1 may specifically be 500:1, 600:1, 700:1, 800:1, 900:1, 1000:1, 1100:1, 1200:1, 1300:1, 1400:1, 1500:1, 1600:1, 1700:1, 1800:1, 1900:1, 2000:1, 2100:1, 2200:1, 2300:1, 2400:1, 2500:1, 2600:1, 2700:1, 2800:1, 2900:1, or 3000:1; the volume ratio of the first mixed powder to the second mixed powder is preferably (0.5 to 2): 1, specifically may be 0.5:1, 0.6:1, 0.7:1, 0.8:1, 0.9:1, 1:1, 1.1:1, 1.2:1, 1.3:1, 1.4:1, 1.5:1, 1.6:1, 1.7:1, 1.8:1, 1.9:1 or 2:1.
In the present invention, the first mixed powder is preferably prepared by the steps of: mixing polyethylene, vitamin E and an organic solvent, and drying to obtain first mixed powder; wherein the organic solvent includes, but is not limited to, acetone; the mixing mode is preferably to uniformly mix vitamin E and an organic solvent and then mix the vitamin E and the organic solvent with polyethylene; the drying temperature is preferably 40-80 ℃, and can be specifically 40 ℃, 45 ℃, 50 ℃, 55 ℃,60 ℃, 65 ℃, 70 ℃, 75 ℃ or 80 ℃; the drying time is preferably 5 to 14 days, and may be specifically 5 days, 6 days, 7 days, 8 days, 9 days, 10 days, 11 days, 12 days, 13 days or 14 days. The second mixed powder is prepared according to the following steps: mixing polyethylene, gallic acid and an organic solvent, and drying to obtain second mixed powder; wherein the organic solvent includes, but is not limited to, acetone; the mixing mode is preferably to uniformly mix gallic acid and an organic solvent and then mix the gallic acid and the organic solvent with polyethylene; the drying temperature is preferably 40-80 ℃, and can be specifically 40 ℃, 45 ℃, 50 ℃, 55 ℃,60 ℃, 65 ℃, 70 ℃, 75 ℃ or 80 ℃; the drying time is preferably 5 to 14 days, and may be specifically 5 days, 6 days, 7 days, 8 days, 9 days, 10 days, 11 days, 12 days, 13 days or 14 days.
In the invention, the polyethylene mixture powder is not blended with the first mixed powder and the second mixed powder in the process of die filling; after die filling is finished, a first mixed powder layer and a second mixed powder layer are formed in the die, and an interface is formed between the two mixed powder layers; the interface can be a plane or an arc surface.
In the present invention, the specific process of sintering preferably includes: sintering the mixed powder filled in the die into blocks under the conditions of heating and pressurizing, carrying out pressure maintaining annealing and cooling. Wherein the heating temperature is preferably 180-250deg.C, specifically 180deg.C, 185 deg.C, 190 deg.C, 195 deg.C, 200 deg.C, 205 deg.C, 210 deg.C, 215 deg.C, 220 deg.C, 225 deg.C, 230 deg.C, 235 deg.C, 240 deg.C, 245 deg.C or 250 deg.C; the heating time is preferably 1-5 h, and can be specifically 1h, 1.5h, 2h, 2.5h, 3h, 3.5h, 4h, 4.5h or 5h; the pressure of the pressurization is preferably 1-50 MPa, and can be specifically 1MPa, 5MPa, 10MPa, 15MPa, 20MPa, 25MPa, 30MPa, 35MPa, 40MPa, 45MPa or 50MPa; the temperature of the pressure maintaining annealing is preferably 110-130 ℃, and can be specifically 110 ℃, 115 ℃, 120 ℃, 125 ℃ or 130 ℃; the pressure maintaining annealing time is preferably 0.5-72 h, more preferably 0.5-5 h, and can be specifically 0.5h, 1h, 1.5h, 2h, 2.5h, 3h, 3.5h, 4h, 4.5h or 5h; the temperature after cooling is preferably room temperature.
In the present invention, the electron beam energy of the electron beam irradiation is preferably 3 to 10MeV, and may be specifically 3MeV, 3.5MeV, 4MeV, 4.5MeV, 5MeV, 5.5MeV, 6MeV, 6.5MeV, 7MeV, 7.5MeV, 8MeV, 8.5MeV, 9MeV, 9.5MeV or 10MeV; the single irradiation dose of the electron beam irradiation is preferably 0.1-5 Mrad, and specifically can be 0.1Mrad, 0.5Mrad, 1Mrad, 1.5Mrad, 2Mrad, 2.5Mrad, 3Mrad, 3.5Mrad, 4Mrad, 4.5Mrad or 5Mrad; the total dose of the electron beam irradiation is preferably 2.5 to 25Mrad, and may specifically be 2.5Mrad, 3Mrad, 4Mrad, 5Mrad, 6Mrad, 7Mrad, 8Mrad, 9Mrad, 10Mrad, 12Mrad, 15Mrad, 17Mrad, 20Mrad or 25Mrad.
The invention also provides a preparation method of the antioxidant gradient cross-linked polyethylene material, which comprises the following steps:
a) Preparing a first mixed powder and a second mixed powder; the first mixed powder is mixed powder of polyethylene and vitamin E, and the second mixed powder is mixed powder of polyethylene and gallic acid;
b) Filling the first mixed powder and the second mixed powder into a mold respectively, wherein the two mixed powders are not mixed; after filling, forming a first mixed powder layer and a second mixed powder layer in the die, wherein an interface is formed between the two mixed powder layers;
c) Sintering the mixed powder filled in the mould, and demoulding to obtain a blank to be irradiated;
d) And carrying out electron beam irradiation on the blank to be irradiated to obtain the oxidation-resistant gradient cross-linked polyethylene material.
In the preparation method provided by the invention, first mixed powder and second mixed powder are prepared, wherein the first mixed powder is mixed powder of polyethylene and Vitamin E (VE), and the second mixed powder is mixed powder of polyethylene and Gallic Acid (GA); the number average molecular weight of the polyethylene is preferably more than or equal to 1000kDa, more preferably 5000-20000 kDa, and particularly 10000-13000 kDa; the mass ratio of polyethylene to vitamin E in the first mixed powder is preferably (50-10000): 1, more preferably (500 to 3000): 1 may specifically be 500:1, 600:1, 700:1, 800:1, 900:1, 1000:1, 1100:1, 1200:1, 1300:1, 1400:1, 1500:1, 1600:1, 1700:1, 1800:1, 1900:1, 2000:1, 2100:1, 2200:1, 2300:1, 2400:1, 2500:1, 2600:1, 2700:1, 2800:1, 2900:1, or 3000:1; the mass ratio of polyethylene to gallic acid in the second mixed powder is preferably (50-10000): 1, more preferably (500 to 3000): 1 may specifically be 500:1, 600:1, 700:1, 800:1, 900:1, 1000:1, 1100:1, 1200:1, 1300:1, 1400:1, 1500:1, 1600:1, 1700:1, 1800:1, 1900:1, 2000:1, 2100:1, 2200:1, 2300:1, 2400:1, 2500:1, 2600:1, 2700:1, 2800:1, 2900:1, or 3000:1.
In the preparation method provided by the invention, the first mixed powder is preferably prepared according to the following steps: mixing polyethylene, vitamin E and an organic solvent, and drying to obtain first mixed powder; wherein the organic solvent includes, but is not limited to, acetone; the mixing mode is preferably to uniformly mix vitamin E and an organic solvent and then mix the vitamin E and the organic solvent with polyethylene; the drying temperature is preferably 40-80 ℃, and can be specifically 40 ℃, 45 ℃, 50 ℃, 55 ℃,60 ℃, 65 ℃, 70 ℃, 75 ℃ or 80 ℃; the drying time is preferably 5 to 14 days, and may be specifically 5 days, 6 days, 7 days, 8 days, 9 days, 10 days, 11 days, 12 days, 13 days or 14 days. The second mixed powder is prepared according to the following steps: mixing polyethylene, gallic acid and an organic solvent, and drying to obtain second mixed powder; wherein the organic solvent includes, but is not limited to, acetone; the mixing mode is preferably to uniformly mix gallic acid and an organic solvent and then mix the gallic acid and the organic solvent with polyethylene; the drying temperature is preferably 40-80 ℃, and can be specifically 40 ℃, 45 ℃, 50 ℃, 55 ℃,60 ℃, 65 ℃, 70 ℃, 75 ℃ or 80 ℃; the drying time is preferably 5 to 14 days, and may be specifically 5 days, 6 days, 7 days, 8 days, 9 days, 10 days, 11 days, 12 days, 13 days or 14 days.
In the preparation method provided by the invention, after the first mixed powder and the second mixed powder are obtained, the first mixed powder and the second mixed powder are respectively filled into a die. Wherein the volume ratio of the first mixed powder to the second mixed powder is preferably (0.5-2): 1, specifically may be 0.5:1, 0.6:1, 0.7:1, 0.8:1, 0.9:1, 1:1, 1.1:1, 1.2:1, 1.3:1, 1.4:1, 1.5:1, 1.6:1, 1.7:1, 1.8:1, 1.9:1 or 2:1. In the filling process, the two mixed powders are not mixed; after filling, forming a first mixed powder layer and a second mixed powder layer in the die, wherein an interface is formed between the two mixed powder layers; the interface can be a plane or an arc surface.
In the preparation method provided by the invention, after filling of the mixed powder is completed, the mixed powder filled in a die is sintered, and then the die is removed to obtain a blank to be irradiated. The specific steps preferably comprise: sintering the mixed powder filled in the die into blocks under the conditions of heating and pressurizing, carrying out pressure maintaining annealing, cooling and demoulding to obtain the blank to be irradiated. Wherein the heating temperature is preferably 180-250deg.C, specifically 180deg.C, 185 deg.C, 190 deg.C, 195 deg.C, 200 deg.C, 205 deg.C, 210 deg.C, 215 deg.C, 220 deg.C, 225 deg.C, 230 deg.C, 235 deg.C, 240 deg.C, 245 deg.C or 250 deg.C; the heating time is preferably 1-5 h, and can be specifically 1h, 1.5h, 2h, 2.5h, 3h, 3.5h, 4h, 4.5h or 5h; the pressure of the pressurization is preferably 1-50 MPa, and can be specifically 1MPa, 5MPa, 10MPa, 15MPa, 20MPa, 25MPa, 30MPa, 35MPa, 40MPa, 45MPa or 50MPa; the temperature of the pressure maintaining annealing is preferably 110-130 ℃, and can be specifically 110 ℃, 115 ℃, 120 ℃, 125 ℃ or 130 ℃; the pressure maintaining annealing time is preferably 0.5-72 h, more preferably 0.5-5 h, and can be specifically 0.5h, 1h, 1.5h, 2h, 2.5h, 3h, 3.5h, 4h, 4.5h or 5h; the temperature after cooling is preferably room temperature.
In the preparation method provided by the invention, after the blank to be irradiated is obtained, the blank to be irradiated is subjected to electron beam irradiation. Wherein, the electron beam energy of the electron beam irradiation is preferably 3-10 MeV, and can be 3MeV, 3.5MeV, 4MeV, 4.5MeV, 5MeV, 5.5MeV, 6MeV, 6.5MeV, 7MeV, 7.5MeV, 8MeV, 8.5MeV, 9MeV, 9.5MeV or 10MeV; the single irradiation dose of the electron beam irradiation is preferably 0.1-5 Mrad, and specifically can be 0.1Mrad, 0.5Mrad, 1Mrad, 1.5Mrad, 2Mrad, 2.5Mrad, 3Mrad, 3.5Mrad, 4Mrad, 4.5Mrad or 5Mrad; the total dose of the electron beam irradiation is preferably 2.5 to 25Mrad, and may specifically be 2.5Mrad, 3Mrad, 4Mrad, 5Mrad, 6Mrad, 7Mrad, 8Mrad, 9Mrad, 10Mrad, 12Mrad, 15Mrad, 17Mrad, 20Mrad or 25Mrad. And after the electron beam irradiation is finished, the antioxidation gradient cross-linked polyethylene material is obtained.
In the invention, taking figures 1-4 as examples, the preparation flow of the antioxidant gradient cross-linked polyethylene materials with 4 different structures is provided respectively. Wherein, fig. 1 shows a preparation flow of an antioxidant gradient cross-linked polyethylene material layered on a horizontal plane, fig. 2 shows a preparation flow of an antioxidant gradient cross-linked polyethylene material layered on a horizontal cambered surface, fig. 3 shows a preparation flow of an antioxidant gradient cross-linked polyethylene material layered on a vertical plane, and fig. 4 shows a schematic diagram of a preparation flow of an antioxidant gradient cross-linked polyethylene material layered on a vertical cambered surface.
According to the technical scheme provided by the invention, the distribution condition of the two antioxidants in the polyethylene is controlled by utilizing the difference of the inhibition degree of vitamin E and gallic acid on the irradiation crosslinking of the polyethylene, so that the gradient crosslinking polyethylene material is obtained. The material has excellent oxidation resistance and higher mechanical property, can obtain high crosslinking on the rubbed surface of the material to improve wear resistance, and can obtain low crosslinking in the material to improve mechanical property, thereby being very suitable for manufacturing intra-articular implants and prolonging the service life of artificial joints.
For clarity, the following examples are provided in detail.
In the examples provided below, the polyethylene resin powder used was a polyethylene resin having a number average molecular weight of 1000 to 1300 kilodaltons.
Example 1
Step (1): adding 100 g of vitamin E into 1 liter of acetone solvent, uniformly mixing, adding 100 kg of polyethylene resin powder, fully mixing, and drying at 60 ℃ for 14 days to obtain first mixed powder; adding 100 g of gallic acid into 1 liter of acetone solvent, uniformly mixing, adding 100 kg of polyethylene resin powder, fully mixing, and drying at 60 ℃ for 14 days to obtain second mixed powder;
step (2): spreading the first mixed powder in a mould for compaction, wherein the powder addition amount is about 1/3 of the volume of the mould, and spreading the second mixed powder with the same volume on the upper layer of the first mixed powder;
step (3): placing the powder-containing mold on a hot plate of a flat vulcanizing machine, heating to 240 ℃, pressurizing to 20MPa, and keeping the temperature and pressure unchanged for 2 hours to sinter the mixture powder into blocks; then cooling to 120 ℃, keeping the pressure unchanged for 1.5 hours, cooling to room temperature, and demoulding to obtain a block blank;
step (4): irradiating the block blank under 10MeV high-energy electron beam at room temperature, obtaining 3Mrad irradiation dose each time, wherein the total irradiation dose is 9Mrad, and measuring the irradiation dose by a standard irradiation chromogenic film; and (3) when the electron beam irradiates the surface of the sample vertically during irradiation, so that the irradiation on the sample is uniform, and an antioxidant gradient cross-linked polymer is obtained after the irradiation and is marked as a sample A.
Example 2
Step (1): adding 100 g of vitamin E into 1 liter of acetone solvent, uniformly mixing, adding 100 kg of polyethylene resin powder, fully mixing, and drying at 60 ℃ for 14 days to obtain first mixed powder; adding 100 g of gallic acid into 1 liter of acetone solvent, uniformly mixing, adding 100 kg of polyethylene resin powder, fully mixing, and drying at 60 ℃ for 14 days to obtain second mixed powder;
step (2): spreading the first mixed powder in a mould for compaction, wherein the powder addition amount is about 1/3 of the volume of the mould, and spreading the second mixed powder with the same volume on the upper layer of the first mixed powder;
step (3): placing the powder-containing mold on a hot plate of a flat vulcanizing machine, heating to 240 ℃, pressurizing to 20MPa, and keeping the temperature and pressure unchanged for 2 hours to sinter the mixture powder into blocks; then cooling to 120 ℃, keeping the pressure unchanged for 1.5 hours, cooling to room temperature, and demoulding to obtain a block blank;
step (4): irradiating the block blank under 10MeV high-energy electron beam at room temperature, obtaining 3Mrad irradiation dose each time, wherein the total irradiation dose is 6Mrad, and measuring the irradiation dose by a standard irradiation chromogenic film; and (3) when the electron beam irradiates the surface of the sample vertically during irradiation, so that the irradiation on the sample is uniform, and an antioxidant gradient cross-linked polymer is obtained after the irradiation and is marked as a sample A1.
Example 3
Step (1): adding 100 g of vitamin E into 1 liter of acetone solvent, uniformly mixing, adding 100 kg of polyethylene resin powder, fully mixing, and drying at 60 ℃ for 14 days to obtain first mixed powder; adding 100 g of gallic acid into 1 liter of acetone solvent, uniformly mixing, adding 100 kg of polyethylene resin powder, fully mixing, and drying at 60 ℃ for 14 days to obtain second mixed powder;
step (2): spreading the first mixed powder in a mould for compaction, wherein the powder addition amount is about 1/3 of the volume of the mould, and spreading the second mixed powder with the same volume on the upper layer of the first mixed powder;
step (3): placing the powder-containing mold on a hot plate of a flat vulcanizing machine, heating to 240 ℃, pressurizing to 20MPa, and keeping the temperature and pressure unchanged for 2 hours to sinter the mixture powder into blocks; then cooling to 120 ℃, keeping the pressure unchanged for 1.5 hours, cooling to room temperature, demoulding to obtain a block blank, and marking the block blank as a sample A2.
Example 4
Step (1): adding 50 g of vitamin E into 1 liter of ethanol solvent, uniformly mixing, adding 100 kg of polyethylene resin powder, fully mixing, and drying at 60 ℃ for 14 days to obtain first mixed powder; adding 100 g of gallic acid into 1 liter of ethanol solvent, uniformly mixing, adding 100 kg of polyethylene resin powder, fully mixing, and drying at 60 ℃ for 14 days to obtain second mixed powder;
step (2): simultaneously placing the first mixed powder and the second mixed powder in a mould with the middle separated by a plane sheet according to the volume ratio of 1:1, separating the two mixtures left and right, compacting, and then extracting the separated plane sheet, wherein the total powder addition amount is about 2/3 of the volume of the mould;
step (3): placing the powder-containing mold on a hot plate of a flat vulcanizing machine, heating to 240 ℃, pressurizing to 20MPa, and keeping the temperature and pressure unchanged for 2 hours to sinter the mixture powder into blocks; then cooling to 120 ℃, keeping the pressure unchanged for 1.5 hours, cooling to room temperature, and demoulding to obtain a block blank;
step (4): irradiating the block blank under 10MeV high-energy electron beam at room temperature, obtaining 3Mrad irradiation dose each time, wherein the total irradiation dose is 9Mrad, and measuring the irradiation dose by a standard irradiation chromogenic film; the oxidation-resistant gradient cross-linked polymer was obtained after irradiation and was designated as sample B.
Example 5
Step (1): adding 300 g of vitamin E into 1 liter of isopropanol solvent, uniformly mixing, adding 100 kg of polyethylene resin powder, fully mixing, and drying at 60 ℃ for 14 days to obtain first mixed powder; adding 100 g of gallic acid into 1 liter of isopropanol solvent, uniformly mixing, adding 100 kg of polyethylene resin powder, fully mixing, and drying at 60 ℃ for 14 days to obtain second mixed powder;
step (2): simultaneously placing the first mixed powder and the second mixed powder in a mould with the middle separated by an arc-surface sheet according to the volume ratio of 1:1, separating the two mixtures left and right, compacting, and then extracting the separated arc-surface sheet, wherein the total powder addition amount is about 2/3 of the volume of the mould;
step (3): placing the powder-containing mold on a hot plate of a flat vulcanizing machine, heating to 240 ℃, pressurizing to 20MPa, and keeping the temperature and pressure unchanged for 2 hours to sinter the mixture powder into blocks; then cooling to 120 ℃, keeping the pressure unchanged for 1.5 hours, cooling to room temperature, and demoulding to obtain a block blank;
step (4): irradiating the block blank under 10MeV high-energy electron beam at room temperature, obtaining 3Mrad irradiation dose each time, wherein the total irradiation dose is 9Mrad, and measuring the irradiation dose by a standard irradiation chromogenic film; the oxidation-resistant gradient cross-linked polymer was obtained after irradiation and was designated as sample C.
Performance comparison
The products prepared in examples 1 to 5 were tested and the results are shown in the following table:
from the above table, it can be seen that the ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene containing gallic acid and vitamin E has several advantages after irradiation crosslinking: 1) The crosslinking degree is distributed in a gradient manner in the block, and has high crosslinking degree near the gallic acid side and low crosslinking degree near the vitamin E side under the same irradiation dose; 2) Higher tensile strength; 3) Higher impact strength. Therefore, by utilizing the technology of the invention, gradient crosslinking ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene materials with different thicknesses can be designed and obtained by controlling the distribution of two antioxidants in the ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene, the purposes of obtaining high crosslinking on the friction surface of the material, improving the wear resistance and obtaining low crosslinking in the material to improve the mechanical property are achieved, and the material can be used for manufacturing intra-articular implants and prolonging the service life of artificial joints.
The foregoing is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention and it should be noted that modifications and adaptations to those skilled in the art may be made without departing from the principles of the present invention, which are intended to be comprehended within the scope of the present invention.