Polymerization kinetics of acrylic bone cements by differential scanning calorimetry

Bone cements are widely used for the fixation of metallic prostheses in orthopaedics and to form replacements for skull defects in neurosurgery. Acrylic bone cements are based on a mixture of methyl methacrylate (MMA) and a fine powder of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA). The polymerization of the bone cement occurs in contact with the bone and the prosthesis which act as the boundaries of a bulk polymerization reactor. The kinetic behaviour of the bone cement plays a fundamental role for the final performance of the implant. In this paper, the isothermal and non-isothermal polymerization behaviour of a commercial bone cement is described. A simple phenomenological model, accounting for the autoacceleration ffect, for a diffusion controlled termination mechanism and for the reaction between inhibitor and initiator, is proposed. The reaction kinetics is analysed by DSC. DSC data are used for the determination of the rates of polymerization under isothermal and non-isothermal conditions. The experimental data are processed to calculate the parameters of the proposed phenomenological kinetic model. The analytical and numerical details related to the integration of the model are discussed.