Abstract
Heat-conduction isothermal microcalorimetry was used to measure the exothermic heat flow rate (Q) from the powder of a widely used commercially-available acrylic bone cement, Palacos R, when it interacted with ambient laboratory air, as a function of time, t, in the calorimeter, for up to 200 h. Four variants of the powder were used, these being unsterilized, sterilized using ethylene oxide gas, gamma-irradiated, in ambient air, with a minimum dosage of 2.5 Mrad, and gamma-irradiated, in ambient air, with a minimum dosage of 4.5 Mrad. In each case, the powder variant was tested after being stored on the shelf, under ambient conditions, for 2 days, 3 weeks and 9 months immediately following sterilization. Best-fit correlations between Q and t for each powder variant were determined. Then, this relationship was integrated over the period 14 h< or =t< or =200 h to give an estimate of the "effective" heat flow, Q(eff). For powder variants tested 2 days after being sterilized, the difference in their thermal stabilities (Qeff ranged from 0.19+/-0.01 to 0.62+/-0.03 microJ/g, respectively) was significant in the case of some pairs and not for others. However, for powders tested either 3 weeks or 9 months following sterilization, there...Continue Reading