Optimization on the dispersion of alendronate sodium in drug-loaded UHMWPE by orthogonal design

The optimum processing conditions were determined by orthogonal design to prepare ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene loaded with sodium alendronate (ALN/UHMWPE). The range analysis and analysis of variance(ANOVA) of tensile strength and broken elongation were carried out by statistiacl package for the social science (SPSS). The tensile test, XRD , DSC, SEM and EDS were used to characterize ALN/UHMWPE prepared under the optimum processing conditions. The orthogonal design combined with statistical analyses reveals that the optimal processing conditions for the uniform dispersion of ALN in UHMWPE are as follows: surfactant (F68), ultra sonic dispersion, 1% mass fraction of ALN and at 37 ℃. ANOVA shows a significant difference. The tensile tests indicate that both tensile strength and broken elongation of (ALN-F68)/UHMWPE increase compared with ALN/UHMWPE. The crystallinity of (ALN-F68)/UHMWPE is slightly higher than that of ALN/UHMWPE, both of which are lower than UHMWPE. No phase or melting behavior changes resulting from ALN addition are observed. The addition of F68 leads to a more uniform distribution of ALN in (ALN-F68)/UHMWPE.